Shotgun!

Welcome to a fanfic written on the ABC boards by several different writers. Nothing's too steamy because of the rules of the board. Enjoy!

Topic: Conversations held in the car.

Rules: Conversations can be between any of the characters. The posts can be stand-alone or build on ones already posted. They can be any tone - funny, angsty, angry, flirty, whatevery.

Your posts have to be something that could actually happen on the show, whether now, 2 years ago, or 50 years from now. Whenever. Just realistic. No Josh-zombies.

Anyone can join in. if you're not on the ABC board, and want to join the fun, send it to me in a PM, and I'll add it.

'Taking the Easy Way Out'

Part 5

Jim saw a look of agony pass over his daughter's face. He was surprised at the strength of her reaction to his words, but he did not know that they were a painful echo for Kate of the fight she and Castle had had all those weeks ago. Hiding in relationships with men you don't love. That was what he had said to her, and she had kicked him out. A horrible coincidence; to have her father saying much the same thing to her, on her wedding day.

'Real life hasn't been that great for me, has it? Who wouldn't want to escape from what I've been through?" She was self-aware enough to know that her arguments were weak, and that made her speak more harshly than she had meant to. Her father's brows drew together in a frown of what looked almost like disappointment.

"Katherine Beckett. You never ran away from anything in your life, so why are you so determined to get as far away from Richard Castle as you can? Why have you pushed him out of your life? Why does it need to be so complicated? He loves you, you love him. What's difficult about that?"

"He's a fickle guy, Dad. He's been in love a lot and it's rarely real. If I give him my heart, that will be it for me. He's not someone I could get over. I am not sure that's true for him."

"Katie, that's the dumbest thing I have ever heard you say in your life, and I know you don't really believe it. Whatever he may have done in the past, that man worships the ground you walk on, and I would bet my last dollar that you are the love of his life. He would never get over losing you. You didn't see him in that hospital room, sitting there waiting to hear if you were going to live or die. The look on his face when the doctor said you might not make it! I wouldn't wish that kind of pain on my worst enemy!"

He spoke quite fiercely for him, but he was frustrated that he did not have the eloquence to convey to his daughter the depth of the writer's feelings for her.

He turned in his seat so that he could look her directly in the eyes. She tried to look down at where her restless hand continued to play with her engagement ring. He put a finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. He had had enough of his fearless girl being so afraid of life.

"Katie, you're the most amazing person I know. You are all your mother's child, and you have never settled for second best in anything, just like her. Don't do it now. You need to grasp life with both hands and say damn the consequences. Nothing really worth having ever came easy. True love is rarer than people think. Don't throw it all away. Don't…"

His voice cracked and she was shocked to see a tear running down his cheek. "Dad, please, I…."

She was interrupted by the ring tone of Jim's cell phone. He quickly answered it, turning a little away from her. "Hello….. You are?... Ok, just wait outside for me."

"Honey, I have to go outside for a second. Just stay here."

Seeing the look of confusion on her face, he patted her hand, saying, "I promise you, everything's going to be okay. What did your mom use to say? Pinky promise." With that, he linked his little finger with hers and kissed the top of her head gently. She shrugged and, exhausted, she closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat once more.

….

As Jim Beckett stepped out of the limousine, he saw a red Ferrari parked a little way behind it. The rain had stopped, for now. Standing next to the car was a tall, dark-haired man who was looking a little unsure, a frown on his face. Jim walked towards the man, and shook his hand warmly, saying, "Thank you so much, Rick. I knew I could rely on you."

"Of course, Jim, I'll do anything. But what's the problem? Has your car broken down? Is Kate okay?" Richard Castle was proud of himself that he was able to say her name without the slightest tremor in his voice. But, while he was straining every fibre of his body to appear unfazed by this unexpected situation, his curiosity was becoming intolerable.

Not to mention the tension of being so close to Kate after all this time, assuming she was actually inside the limo with the blacked out windows. He tried to keep a politely neutral expression on his face, but Jim could see the strain in his face, the circles under the man's eyes, the hands clenched so tightly that the knuckles were white.

"Katie's inside the car. She's not going through with the wedding. At least, I hope not. So I need your help."

At the second sentence a flash of hope had flared in the writer's eyes, to be quickly snuffed out when Jim said, 'I hope not.'

In a voice carefully devoid of any emotion, Castle said, "I'm happy to help you and Kate in any way I can, you know that. But you need to explain what's going on. You're not making a lot of sense, to be honest."

Jim Beckett knew that he could talk for hours about the whole situation, but there was no time for that. And these two had wasted far too many precious hours already, with this ridiculous dance they had been doing. Time to cut to the chase

"Well, the short version is this. You love Katie, right?"

Castle's eyes widened a little in shock at the man's bluntness. He opened his mouth to deny it, but then he nodded, almost imperceptibly. He was so tired of trying to pretend that it was not true.

Jim smiled at the writer's response. "Well, then. Katie's had a terrible year and she's not thinking straight. Josh was the safe option and she went for that. She's sitting in that car as miserable as hell about the step she's about to take. I'm not going to let her make that mistake."

Castle ran through a gamut of emotions in the short time Jim's words took to say. Regret, sadness, jealousy, hope. He ran his hands through his hair, swallowed and managed to say, "Ok. But I am not sure where I fit into all this."

"Now that's easy. Katie loves you and I want you to take her home, while I go to the church and call off the wedding." He spoke as matter-of-factly as if he were rearranging a golf game. He could not help laughing at the expression on Castle's face. The writer looked as if he had been hit with a shovel in the face, like an old Tom and Jerry cartoon.

"Er, ah….." Castle had no idea what to say and he was not sure if his vocal chords would even work.

Jim clasped Castle briefly on the shoulder. "I wouldn't hand over my girl to many people, but I trust you to take care of her. That's all I ask."

His voice sounded a little hoarse but Richard Castle managed to croak out. "Always."

"That's what I thought. Just wait here a moment." With that, Jim turned and walked back towards the limousine.