The Heart of the Matter
by LindaInDC
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction based on Castle, the ABC show, also owned by Andrew W. Marlowe and other cool, brilliant people. I do not own the characters, but have written this work with no intent to gain profit from it. It is for reading enjoyment only. The story, names and places are fictional, and any similarities to real persons, places and events are purely coincidental.
Thank you for reading, providing reviews and favoriting/following this story. You all are amazing.
Note: July 24, 2016- this is not additional chapters in this update. I am just breaking down this one massive post into smaller ones allowing a chapter per page.
A great big note of thanks to Sass, who helped me with her magical doctor powers to square away the clinical side of this story. I wanted to do this justice, without writing a clinical textbook.
Chapter Ten
The medical jet sat fueled, inspected and ready on the tarmac at the airport, and the flight crew and ICU nurse had received the author and his physician, and he was just finished being placed onto the gurney and had adjusted it so that Rick could lie with his head up so that he could breathe easier, and also so he could see out the window. The hospital nurse had given him a mild sedative to help calm him for the helicopter ride and for the take off. He was awake but happy, given the current state of events. His sunglasses completed his pre-flight setup.
Martha, Alexis and Paula were assisted onto the plane last. "Wow!" Exclaimed Alexis as she saw the equipment and organized storage areas labeled to hold supplies, medication and the like. "It looks like a mini hospital!"
"Which hopefully for me, will not have to be used." Rick said, his smile the best it had been since he had been ill.
Harper gave a laugh and smiled as she knelt next to Rick and replied, "That's the idea!"
Paula, ever one to take advantage of an opportunity to promote her clients, grabbed her iPhone and said, "Hey that's cute! Give us a little smile, you two!" She snapped the photo on her phone.
"Paula, don't you think that given the situation, that might not be the best thing to share?" Martha asked, her actor genes kicking in.
Paula replied, "We had that article on Page Six about him not being around, I thought I'd post this on his social media feed, so folks could see he's ok. I'll crop it tight and add some color onto his cheeks. The sunglasses help a lot."
"Fine, but I would like to see it before you put it on 'The Twitface' thingie." Martha instructed, to the laughter of several in the cabin.
The pilot announced that they were clear for takeoff, and conferred with Harper that Castle was good for travel, and within moments, they were rolling onto the runway, gearing up for departure. Minutes later, the engines revved and the plane began to smoothly accelerate down the pavement, then lifting gently up into the air, taking the Castle's unique entourage back home.
Castle asked to be repositioned a bit so that he could sleep, and once that was complete, he was asleep within minutes of the plane leveling off. His defibrillator had fired a couple times over the last day or so, and he grew sore from the pain of being literally "zapped" with electricity over the last few days, so the rest was welcomed.
The plane, considering it was literally a hospital in the sky, was spacious. There was seating enough for ten, in addition to the flight and medical crew, and Castle. Meals were provided for everyone, and every comfort of a typical high end private jet trip was accommodated.
A little more than five hours later, the plane was descending in altitude for arrival at JFK airport in New York. A private ambulance was waiting for Castle and Harper, and a car for the Castle ladies, which would take them to Presbyterian Hospital. Paula had arranged for a car to take her home.
####
"Thank you, Mr. Terrazza, here's my card. If there is anything else you recall about the man you saw, please contact me." Kate said, as she slid her card into the hand of the older gentleman.
OK," Beckett began as she turned to her team after reaching the ground floor entrance to the apartment building. "The victim's son is in debt and had been known to come in to his mother's home and take things and hock them for cash. Based on what we saw on the security footage, witness statements, if COD from the Medical Examiner's office corroborates, we will probably be handing this over to robbery."
Espo and Ryan nodded and went to brief the uniforms guarding the crime scene, and have them start breaking down the perimeter. As they were a few feet from her, Kate's phone chimed with a text message. Swiftly, she pulled her phone from her pocket, only to be slightly disappointed. It wasn't a text to her from Castle; it was a text notification from one of Castle's social media accounts. Well, he's alive, at least. He's just not talking to me, it seems. She thought inwardly. A deep breath later, she clicked the link that took her to the source of the posting. The message made her heart sink.
"Travel is fun and romantic, and you never know all the beautiful people you'll meet along the way ;-) ph".
Accompanying the text was a photo. In it, sat Rick Castle, with several days of beard growth on his tanned face, his hair windswept but in a ruggedly handsome way, and his eyes covered behind sunglasses that cost more than her paycheck. A small, mysterious smile on his lips, that she had never seen before on the writer. To his left, crouched close to him was a woman, her perfect honey brown highlighted hair stylishly wrapped into a perfect french braid, which showcased her perfectly chiseled cheekbones, her perfect crystal blue eyes and her perfectly electric smile. In short, she was beautiful. Her eyes were crinkled slightly, as if she were just laughing at something Castle had just said, just as the camera snapped the photo. "Perhaps this actually is the 'reason' he blew off the tour!"
"What was that, boss?" Ryan asked, his steps bringing him back to check on her, as she had not moved from the spot he left her. Espo had already gone back to the precinct with a uniform, as he had a date with the firing range to re-qualify.
Not realizing she had said it aloud, Kate paused a moment before leaning her phone over for the detective to see. "Who is that?" he asked, his voice full of surprise.
"My successor, maybe?" Kate said, half joking. Sarcasm was her weapon when feeling threatened.
"Beckett, you two just…." Ryan looked around before continuing, "got, you know…hitched. Castle's not like that. There has to be some explanation that doesn't involve that."
Kate tried to smile, and not let this get to her, but seeing him like this after he's ignored her text hurt. "I hope you're right, Kev. I hope you're right." Beckett said with a sigh.
The Irish detective smiled to help cheer her up, stating, "Let's go back to the twelfth."
####
The hustle and bustle of the Twelfth precinct was in full swing as the detectives arrived at the precinct the next day. The sound of ringing phones, printers and computers filled the space left open by the dozens of conversations between detectives, officers and the public that were there for various purposes. Morning rapidly shifted into early afternoon.
"Beckett, I've a message back from Perlmutter…" Ryan began, before he was interrupted by a mirthful Javier Esposito, who winked as he spoke in a low tone. "You mean, Mrs. Castle, there, don't you, partner. You don't want to confuse people with who you're referencing, right?"
Ryan nervously looked from Kate and then towards his partner, He hadn't a chance yet to tell him about the photo. "Um, Javi…you might not want to …"
Espo, feeling brave, didn't see the mortified look on Beckett's face or the panicked expression on Ryan's, and replied, "Fine, but you can't keep avoiding this…answer me one question, first. You honestly don't recall any of it?"
The vein on Kate's forehead popped out and became visible as she tried to suppress her anger. Ryan attempted to "Espo, stop, something's happened".
Kate looked over to Ryan, and gave him a silent "Thank you" in her facial expression. She quietly turned and went into the break area to collect herself and calm down. Looking back at the boys, she saw the look on Javi's face as Ryan pulled up the photo and bring him up to speed. She could tell from a mile away that Javi was having a hard time believing that this was an innocent post, and unrelated to the page six article and his partner was defending Castle, as Espo's body language became more engaging, indicating a conflict. Ryan was more in a more calm stance, no doubt trying to plead his case to his partner.
Beckett thought that she had been wrong to dismiss Castle immediately, and her work on herself had helped show her that she could move on and find a relationship where they could finish tearing the walls down, together. She had thought it would be with Castle. Now she doubted if she would have him as even a friend, at this point. But right now, she had work to do, and this was getting her nowhere fast. She made her way back to her desk, only to be met by Javi and Ryan.
"Look, Beckett, I was out of line back there. I'm sorry." Came Espo's earnest apology..
Sitting down in her chair, she smiled and said, "It's ok, Javi. You didn't know."
The conversation was interrupted by a slightly older, tall, distinguished man, dressed in a very expensive suit. Every inch of his appearance screamed "Attorney".
"Excuse me, are you Detective Kate Beckett?" The man asked, his rich baritone voice filled the empty space around the trio.
Kate nodded as she replied, "Yes, I am." She found herself taking a step closer to the man out of instinct.
Reaching into his inner jacket pocket to retrieve a business card, he began, "I am Victor Barron, of Barron, Stein and Jones. I wanted to make sure that you got this directly, as requested by my client."
The man proffered a large, sealed manilla envelope, with Kate's full name on the front. After hesitating a moment, she reached out and slowly took the item from the lawyer. The boys saw what was happening, and after making a quick deduction of the purpose of this business, moved away quietly, giving their boss space.
At her acceptance of the envelope, he continued, "Please take time to review this carefully before you sign. If you have council, I would advise you to have them review it, as well. Please contact me when you are ready to move forward.."
Kate felt as if this conversation was happening in slow motion. She could hear her own voice, almost working independently of her brain, say, "Wait! Who is your client?"
Giving a brief smile, he replied, "Richard Castle. He wanted to make sure that this went through as soon as possible. He stated that, and I quote, 'He's sorry that he held things up for so long, and now, he can see that he was wrong to delay, and that it was for the best to terminate this' "His words," 'hurtful sham of a marriage' , "end of quote. In return for his acceptance, he does request that you not go to the press with news of the drunken indiscretion."
Kate could not speak, but nodded her agreement, as her throat was too tight to form words. Even just thinking about what this entailed caused her stomach to clench. She paused, trying to collect her thoughts. At her action, the attorney also nodded and replied, "Good day, Detective". At that, he turned and was gone.
Kate stood frozen, the envelope in her hands. This was not what they'd agreed upon. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, her gaze turned to the envelope. Tearing it open carefully, she reached in and pulled out the blue backed papers, clearly identifying it as a legal document. Her eyes became huge as she held it in her hands. It's purpose clear, as it read:
Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.
Scanning to the end of the document, her eyes locked on the crisp signature of Richard Castle. He'd already signed, indicating that he really would not stand in the way.
Drunken Indiscretion. Is that really how you see it now, Castle?
The breath left Kate at the sight of the document. Every fiber in her being began to scream 'You've waited too long!'. She knew he was right from the beginning, that they belonged together, for at least a chance at happiness, but she had been bound by a sense of control. She held onto that need for control, to direct when, how they came together. This was never supposed to happen. The one constant in her life was Castle. He was loyal to a fault, and no matter how bad things got, he never gave up. Never.
Until now.
"Castle, what is going on?" Kate said barely aloud, to no one. She slowly sat down, the envelope dropping onto the desk before her. Her mind spinning, she could not shake the feeling that something was off with the writer. Her inner Rick Castle sense was pinging for days now, and his absence at the precinct, in her life, on the tour, for all these weeks had thoroughly thrown her off-kilter. Not being vain, but Kate Beckett knew Rick Castle. That man never quit. He'd come out of a coma to chase after her, tease her with some sexual innuendo, and pull her pigtails any time, day or night. It annoyed her to bits.
And she missed every second of it.
Kate grabbed her phone and attempted to call Rick again, but as before, the phone went straight to voicemail. She fired off a quick "Call me ASAP" text, but no answer was returned. She needed to talk to him, but he wasn't making himself available. She decided to go see Lanie. Perhaps her best female friend could help her gain some perspective.
####
Lanie spent most of the initial conversation with her mouth hanging open in surprise. "So, let me get this straight. You two got drunk, got married and slept together. You told him it was a mistake. He says he wants you, you fought him. He went out of town but you two haven't spoken since agreeing to think it over, and then today his attorney shows up. That about cover it?"
Kate felt about an inch tall as she added, "Almost. Lanie, when we were arguing, I felt up like he was pushing me against a wall. I basically told him that not only did I not want to be married to him. I also said I wish we had never met."
Expecting Lanie to start shouting at her, Kate was further surprised, as her friend remained quiet for a long moment, then began, "Kate, is that how you really feel?"
The detective looked down, wiping tears as she answered, "No."
"Then what were you thinking? You basically told the man to go jump off a cliff." The medical examiner explained.
Kate replied, "He hasn't come back since his book tour, which we all know now, he didn't do. Then yesterday, this appears online." Handing her friend her phone, she shows her the post continuing the photo of Castle and the beautiful blonde. "Then, he had his lawyer serve me with divorce papers. Lanie, he'd signed them. It's over!"
Lanie Parrish thought that she could read people and from day one, she knew that Castle would be good for her friend. Later on, she could see how they danced around one another, and she couldn't wait for the fireworks when they came together. But that never happened. Lanie pursed her lips before she replied, "Kate, I don't know how to say this but straight out. Do you love him?"
"Yeah, I do." Kate replied with quiet sincerity. Her thoughts collided at that moment. "Oh God, Lanie, I really did it this time. I pushed him too hard, ignored my feelings and even struck out at him. I've driven him away for good." The tears coursed down her cheeks with fervor.
Offering her tissue box to her best friend, Lanie, took that pause to compose her response. "See, Kate, I don't think the Tequila made you marry Castle. I think it loosened up you two. You acted on what you really wanted. Then when you woke up, you panicked. But, despite how hard you've fought this because you were't ready, your head and your heart are finally on the same page."
Kate kept her head lowered, but slowly nodded her agreement at the statement her friend just offered.
Lanie was on a roll. "But your pride and your wall wasn't down yet to let that happen, and you had the biggest knee jerk reaction you could have had.
"Yeah, it was." Was all the detective could say, as the tears clogged her voice. Lanie offered her a tissue.
Kate's friend began another chapter of this topic, "So now, after several sessions with Dr. Burke and serious soul searching, you're on board with wanting him, and judging from what's happened, it seems that he isn't now."
A tear slid down Kate's cheer as she nodded and said, "Yeah."
"So now the question to be answered is, what are you gonna do about it?" Lanie challenged.
A light went on in Kate's heart, making her see more clearly than she had in so long. "I love him. I'm not going to lose him and I'm going to go see if I can't fix this!"
"Now that sounds like the Kate Beckett I know and love!" Lanie said to her friend as they now they reached for tissues.
Kate dried her face, stood up and said, "Okay, no more time for tears. I've got someone I need to go see."
"Atta girl!"
To be continued...