Disclaimer: I don't own them.
She awakened to feel the sunlight streaming through the blinds and warming her face. For a moment she was disoriented, unsure as to where she was. Kate had grown accustomed to waking in one of two places, her bed or his, and her current location was neither of those.
The guest bedroom, she reminded herself as she stretched her arms over her head. I'm sleeping in the guest bedroom. The last time she'd slept here was after her apartment had been blown up nearly three years ago. It seemed much longer than that. Indeed, it felt as if Kate Beckett had lived a lifetime since then.
In many ways she had. Their love affair, while short, had carried an intensity of emotions that many never felt in the span of 50 year marriages. Yes, she had lived a lifetime since the last time she'd awakened in that bed.
Love affair. She thought to herself, not liking the sound of the term. It didn't seem to do what they had justice. A love affair seems like something that two people would stumble into with a passion and intensity that was short-lived, burning out as soon as the newness wore off.
What they had was something else altogether. It started slow, burned intense, and truth be told, never burned out. She doubted it ever would, some things were endless, and their connection certainly would fall into that category.
Kate dressed quickly and pulled her hair back into a tight bun, allowing runaway strands to frame her face. She took comfort in routine, her father's watch, her mother's ring, things that were as much a part of her uniform as her badge and gun. Routine brought her comfort in a time of upheaval, a time when she wouldn't know what to expect next.
She braced herself as she grabbed for the door handle, readying herself emotionally for the days and weeks ahead. It was time to set her walls firmly in place and see this through. Hopefully once it all passed she would be able to find some solid ground with him once again. She prayed that she would salvage some aspect of their connection.
She plastered a polite smile on her face as she made her way down the stairs, spotting both Castle and Martha sitting at the counter and eating breakfast. Both mother and son stood when they spotted her, Martha coming to embrace her warmly.
"Good morning, darling." She kissed Kate's cheek, "It's good to see you."
Kate found it odd, especially considering less than a week ago they'd found it habit to have breakfast together.
Rick was polite as well. Reserved, but polite. "I saved you some eggs." He informed her as he crossed into the kitchen and set a covered plate in front of the empty chair on the other side of his mother. He removed the towel to produce a meal of bacon, eggs and toast. It was prepared as he knew she liked it best, complete with her favorite flavor of jam.
"Thanks, Castle." She spoke with a genuine affection in her tone.
"I was cooking anyway." He answered. There wasn't shortness to his tone, but there was reservation. It reminded her of a time months ago, back before they'd crossed that line in their relationship. He was guarded again, a wall built to protect himself from her.
She nodded gratefully and said little else, both partners allowing Martha to fill the awkward silence.
"So let me get this straight, you're leaking a fake engagement to the press?" She spoke with a hint of speculation in her voice. It was clear she did not think that this was a good idea, especially given the recent turn in their relationship.
Kate remained silent and let Castle do the talking. It gave her the opportunity to get a sense of where he stood on things. She wanted to know what he knew and what his plans were.
"That's right. We've got a solid chance to catch these two in the act, and I guess I'm just a prime target." Castle spoke somewhat sardonically. Both women nodded their agreement, it was a universally acknowledged dark side of his success.
"Have you spoken to Alexis? How far is this going to go?" She asked, turning to her son, seated to her left and Kate, on her right.
"It's going to go as far as it needs to, and yes, I did speak with Alexis." Castle informed his mother. Kate interjected,
"You," she motioned to Martha before continuing, "Alexis, my dad, Lanie, the boys, Mayor Weldon and Captain Gates know the truth. Everyone else will think that it is the real deal. The fewer people who know, the more likely we will be able to pull it off." Kate offered somewhat tentatively.
"Well, it's a ready-made wedding party." Martha spoke.
"Yeah. We can have fun planning a wedding and not have to worry about the actual marriage hassle." Castle added in attempt to make a joke. It fell flat, causing what felt like a knife to twist in Kate's gut. She'd assumed somewhere deep inside that one day they would be engaged. She never voiced the longing, but acknowledged that she felt it.
"So, you're going to go through with the actual wedding ceremony? Do you really think that is a good idea, considering…" Martha asked, trepidation clear in her voice, she was clearly referencing the elephant in the room, their strained relationship.
Castle and Beckett both stared blankly at her. They had no idea how far this was going. However, before either could answer her question a knock sounded on the door.
Castle jumped at the chance to make an exit from their rapidly intensifying conversation, "I'll get that!"
The boys entered, followed by Gates who nodded politely at Beckett and Martha when she spotted them. "Lanie and Alexis are on their way up" Offered Ryan as he moved to sit in the living room.
"I figured we should all develop a game plan before this goes public." Gates spoke, "and this seemed to be the most secure place to do it." Everyone nodded, making their way to join the boys.
Kate cleared her throat, "If we're going to develop a plan I think my dad needs-"
"I've already called him, he's on his way." Castle interrupted her. She stared at him for a moment, taking in once again just how reserved he was with her. She smiled thankfully and nodded.
Castle then excused himself to the kitchen to prepare light refreshments for his guests, needing the time to himself before things moved forward.
45 minutes later the small group gathered to listen to Gates, who began to speak.
"Thank you all for being here. I know that this is a lot to ask of you all, but we've got a powerful opportunity here. We've got the chance to catch a prominent couple, a couple who thinks that they are untouchable because they have money. If we play this right, we can send a very powerful message to the city, we can send the message that having money and power doesn't guarantee immunity when you take the life of another." Everyone swallowed somewhat nervously,
Castle couldn't help but make eye contact with Beckett, glancing at her meaningfully as Gates spoke. It didn't matter how angry he was, or how hurt he was, he knew that the captain's words would strike a chord with Kate. He brought his hand to the small of her back and rubbed soothingly for a moment. If only Gates knew just how meaningful her words were, how close to home they hit.
She smiled at him, letting him know that she was ok. The small gesture of support filled her with warmth and immense gratitude. Maybe we'll be ok afterall, she thought to herself. Then the moment was gone and she felt the absence of his warm palm on her back. She felt an immense loss, but she pushed it aside, focusing instead on her boss' words.
"So, we need a game plan. Nobody outside of this room knows the truth. Is that understood?" They all nodded.
"What about Paula?" Castle questioned, "She could help spread the word." He offered.
"Nobody else," Gates re-stated, " Paula can spread the word just as effectively if she thinks it is real." He couldn't disagree with Gates on that front.
"What sort of time frame are we dealing with?" Kate asked, reflecting back on Martha's question. Just how far will this go?
"Well, that's partially why we're here. We need our story to be clear and cohesive. We need to move quickly, but we need it to be believable." Gates responded. "It would be ideal if we could get this done within the next several weeks."
"How are we going to make that plausible?" Alexis questioned, "who gets married in a matter of weeks?"
"Well," Gates hesitated for a moment, trying to find the words she was lacking.
"Someone who needs to get married, who is under a time crunch." Castle spoke, the pieces in his head coming together. He knew exactly what Gates was suggesting. Beckett, evidently, followed as well.
"You're suggesting a shotgun wedding?" Kate was incredulous. "You have got to be kidding!" She protested. It was one thing to be linked to Castle romantically in the press. She was used to it, but it was another matter entirely to leak a story that would explain a quick wedding and leave her career intact.
"We can release a statement when it is over with the truth." Gates tried to reason with Beckett.
Alexis didn't follow, "I don't see what the problem is." She spoke somewhat confused.
"They want us to claim that Kate is pregnant. That we're getting married before she shows." Castle clarified. Beckett was steaming, the boys amused and everyone else speechless.
"I'm not asking you to state that she's pregnant. I'm simply asking to allow the insinuation and not deny it." Gates stated.
"It is the perfect cover, honey." Lanie tried to reason with Beckett.
Kate simply stared into space, glaring at her current misfortune. I'm never going to live this down. She thought bitterly.
"So," Ryan tried to fill the uncomfortable space, "what role do we play?" He inquired.
"Best man." Castle spoke, quickly correcting himself when Esposito stared at him threateningly. "Best Men…Men." You two make up half of the wedding party.
Gates nodded, "and you two the other half." She spoke to Alexis and Lanie, "the parents play their role too, obviously." Martha and Jim nodded, both feeling immense pain for the charade their children would have to pull off.
"Are we sure that our suspects will bite? I mean, Beckett is a cop, afterall. It would be pretty stupid to target a cop." Esposito expressed his concern.
"Given their success and what we know about the types of couples they target, yes. I think they will be a prime target. Besides, they have no idea that we're onto them. As far as they are concerned, nobody would tie what happened out at sea to them."
"How far is this going to go though?" Castle asked, no longer wanting to beat around the bush.
"We have no way of knowing when they will try to hire our hit men. It could be after your first meeting, a week into planning, or it could be after the ceremony. We're going to have to wait them out." Gates looked at the stricken expressions on the partners' faces.
"Wedding ceremonies are not legally binding. " She clarified.
"You go through the ceremony and we'll make sure that the license is a fake, or we will make sure it is not processed. You don't have to worry about getting legally married here." She hoped it would sooth their worries, but it seemed to make the pair even more uncomfortable.
"So, are there anymore questions?" Gates shifted the conversation. When she was met with silence she nodded.
"Good. Then we'll leak the story. You have an appointment set up for later this afternoon at the Wingate, and we'll get to planning. The sooner we move through all of this, the sooner we can catch them." She nodded, "Ok people. Let's get to work," and with that, she ended their meeting.
Once everyone had cleared out Kate made her way back upstairs to grab a jacket before heading to the precinct for a while.
"Beckett, wait." Castle grabbed for her arm to still her. She simply stared at him, unable to find words in the face of the sensation of his hand on her skin. He always had that effect on her, it was only when she couldn't act on it that it impacted her like this.
As if sensing her thoughts, he took a step back. "Wait here." He instructed before going back to his room. Soon he stepped out, holding something small.
"Look. If we're going to do this then it might as well look real." He explained as he handed her the velvet box in his hands. She tried to swallow back the lump in her throat as she opened it, completely breathless as she took in the ring.
It was elegant, a solitaire diamond with a white gold band. It wasn't overstated, but had a timeless quality to it. The ring is exactly what Kate would have picked out for herself and the thought sent rush of heat through her, as well as a sinking sensation in her stomach.
"Castle. It's beautiful. Where…" She couldn't speak for a moment, needing to get a grip on her emotions.
"Where did you get this?" She finally forced the words out in a whisper.
He simply stared at the ring for a moment, before turning his back on her and leaving the room. Before he shut his bedroom door he answered,
"It doesn't matter anymore."
A/N: Next chapter will be told from Castle's perspective, get a bit inside of his head. There is a clear end-point to this story in sight, despite the twists and turns of the journey :)