Disclaimers: No, I don't own 'Castle.'

Summary: Post 5x10 'Significant Others.' Kate tells Castle what she and Meredith discussed during their mysterious dinner together, while Castle later tells Kate why things didn't work out between him and his ex-wife. Contains spoilers from the episode.

A/N #1: The song for this chapter is 'Touch Me' by The Doors. I'm using this song because of two particular lines.

A/N #2: In one of my previous chapters of this story, I had a reviewer complain about why Kate didn't just ask Castle why his marriage failed, instead of asking Meredith. After all, there are two sides to every story. This chapter will explore Castle's side of the story.

A/N #3: Also, my new guilty pleasure is AMC's 'The Walking Dead.' Without giving away spoilers to anyone who hasn't seen the show, I'm going to incorporate a bit of my new guilty pleasure in this chapter to lighten things up at the end.

Chapter 38: The Other Side of the Story

Come on, come on, come on, come on now

Touch me, babe

Can't you see?

That I am not afraid

What was that promise that you made?

Why won't you tell me what she said?

What was that promise that you made?

Now, I'm gonna love you 'till the heavens stop the rain

I'm gonna love you 'till the stars fall from the sky

For you and I

"Okay, what did she say about me?" Castle begged Kate as the two of them stood in front of his dresser after she'd returned home from her dinner with Meredith. "Oh, come on! I get it! I mishandled this whole thing and I'm so sorry. Please tell me what Meredith said. Is it anything I should be worried about?"

He looked so cute that Kate instantly felt sorry for making fun of him with Meredith just moments earlier. She began to laugh as she wrapped her arms around him. "You know, Castle, as much fun as it would be to keep on torturing you, I actually like you a little bit more now."

"You do?"

"Um-hmm. Meredith is a fun, dynamic, and hard to say no to woman. But as long as we're together, she never stays here again."

"That goes without saying," he nodded in agreement. "But seriously, what did the two of you talk about? What did she say about me?"

She was about to put him out of his misery, but her phone rang, so the moment was interrupted. "I promise I'll tell you when we come back home," she kissed him softly. "Come on, we have a murder to solve."

It was close to three in the morning when they returned home. Castle went upstairs to check on Alexis, who was still battling mono while Kate went into the ensuite to run a bath. Alexis was sprawled under her blankets, which Castle straightened as he ran a hand tenderly over her forehead. "She still looks like she's three when she's asleep," he turned to find Meredith standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, she does," he smiled in agreement.

"Are you and Kate just getting home?" She squinted at Alexis' alarm clock by her bed, noting the time.

"Murder doesn't sleep. She told me that she enjoyed your dinner," he walked out of Alexis' room with his ex at his heels.

"It was fun," she smiled in agreement. "She's wonderful, Richard. I'm happy for you. I really mean that."

"Thank you, Meredith. That means a lot to me."

"Well, she's crazy about you. She cares about Alexis. Hell, she even loves your mother, which as both of us knows, isn't the easiest thing in the world to do," the redhead rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm going to bed," he said as he made his getaway.

"Goodnight, Richard."

When he walked into his bedroom, he could hear the water running in the bathroom. He opened the door and walked in, smiling at the sight of his girlfriend relaxing under a mountain of suds, her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. "How's Alexis?"

"Sleeping," he began peeling off his clothes as Kate smiled up at him. "I ran into Meredith."

"You don't have to look so guilty, Castle, unless you did something to feel guilty about," she gave him a pointed look before she moved up so that he could slide into the tub behind her.

"She heard me checking on Alexis. She told me that she was happy for me, about us. So, what did the two of you talk about?" He whispered in her ear as he pulled her closer to his chest.

"Um, I don't really remember," she teased until he started tickling her, making her squirm and laugh. "Okay, okay. Castle, stop! She told me that you were the first love of her life. She says that she regrets that things didn't work out between the two of you, but she says she doesn't regret her decision to let you raise Alexis. You've done a wonderful job with her."

"Wow," he cradled Kate to his chest.

"Of course, she also told me a number of rather amusing stories, one of which involved a streaker at one of your book signings."

"Oh my god," he groaned. "It wasn't a book signing. It was my launch party for 'In a Hail of Bullets.' I've even got the clipping from it somewhere. That was the only launch party Meredith was around for. We split up right after that. But, it was funny. Although not so funny for the guy who was reliving the 70's."

"She's very funny and interesting. She's also much more intelligent than I would've thought from the way you'd described her to me in the past. She asked some great questions about my work and how we work together as a team."

"I don't remember ever saying that Meredith wasn't smart, she's just very self-absorbed."

"There's no doubt that she cares about you and that she loves your daughter very much. She spoke of Alexis with so much pride and love."

"I just get so angry sometimes, Kate," he breathed against her neck.

"Why?" She clasped his hands in hers.

"I have no doubt that Meredith loves Alexis, but where has she been for every major event in her life? She couldn't even be bothered to attend her own daughter's high school graduation. Alexis is her only child, Kate! She's missed birthdays, school plays, holidays, and now her graduation. All I can say is Alexis is far more gracious than I would've been if I were in her shoes."

"When my father was drinking, I was like Alexis is with Meredith. I forgave a lot of stuff, but after a while I learned that I had a breaking point. I'm sure that Alexis probably has one, too. But, she's a young woman now, Rick. It has to be up to her how she handles her mother."

"I know that she's a young woman, but she's always going to be my little girl. The same way that you're still your father's little girl. That never goes away."

Kate took his arms and wrapped them around her waist as she pressed herself against him. She loved these moments spent in his huge oversized bathtub. The warmth, the intimacy, and the solid strength of the man sitting behind her kept her grounded and made her feel safe for the first time in a long time.

After their bath, they dressed and fell into bed, where they quickly fell into a sleep fueled by several days' worth of exhaustion. Kate groaned when the alarm went off early the next morning. She tried to move out of Castle's embrace, but he tightened his arms around her in protest. "Don't get up," he pulled her tighter into his body.

"Castle, I have to. I have to get my things packed to go back to my place. This has been nice, but you have one redhead too many staying here right now."

Castle grumbled but he eventually rolled out of bed and into the bathroom. Once he was done, Kate went in to get dressed and packed up her toiletries. He followed her out of the bedroom as she pulled her rolling suitcase behind her. "I mean, I know that your apartment is inhabitable again, I just . . . do you have to leave?" He sounded like a little boy as Kate turned to smile at him.

"Do you want me here because you actually want me here or because you need protection from the redheads?" She smiled at him.

"A little of both," he admitted.

"Okay, I'll tell you what. If it gets to be too much, you can come and stay at my place," she smoothed his collar.

"Thank you."

They turned toward the stairs as Meredith came down pulling her own suitcase, followed closely by Alexis and Martha. "Are you sure that you don't need me to stay?" Meredith turned to her daughter.

"No, you should go ahead and go on to Paris. I'm sure I'll feel like going with you next summer. I'm glad that you came, mom," Alexis hugged her mother.

"Oh, me too, sweetie."

"You're leaving?" Castle was puzzled.

"Yes, Alexis and I talked about it and we decided that I might as well continue with my original plans. Richard, my purse is upstairs—"

"I'll go get it," he looked at Kate before going upstairs to retrieve his ex-wife's handbag.

Meredith stopped in front of Kate. "Det. Beckett, it was a real pleasure."

"Yes, it was," Kate embraced the other woman. "You know, Meredith, it's so funny. When you first came and insisted on staying here, I thought you might have had an agenda."

"Actually, I did," she brazenly admitted. "When Alexis told me about you two and how this one was serious, I knew I had to check it out for myself. And I'm so glad I did. You two are great together."

"Thank you. Can I ask you a question? Why didn't it work out between you and Rick? I'm sorry; is that too personal?"

"Oh, no, no, no. It's fine. You know, being married to Richard was great. Full of romance and excitement. Like a deliciously sweet soufflé. And then one day I realized that he knew everything about me. My deepest secrets, my worst pain, enough to fill a million novels. But I didn't even know enough about him to write a pamphlet."

"I don't understand," Kate was confused.

"For instance, whenever I asked him about how he felt about never knowing his father, he would smirk. You know the way he smirks and then he would throw out a quip and change the subject. Our marriage went one way and that wasn't enough for me. I mean, soufflés are wonderful, but sooner or later, they always fall. Oh, but that was a long, long time ago. Wh-what? Fifteen years in fact. He's a totally different man now."

"Yes, of course. I was just curious," Kate said as she saw Castle coming down the stairs with Meredith's purse.

"Thank you, Ricky," she kissed him.

"It was great to see you, Meredith."

"You too, Ricky. Bye."

Castle closed the door behind Meredith and turned toward Kate with a sigh of relief. "Are you sure that you can't stay? At least let me cook you breakfast."

As Castle walked past her to the kitchen, Kate moved her suitcase to one side. But her thoughts were in a jumble. What was she thinking asking Meredith questions about Castle? But while she knew little things about Castle, she didn't know the major things about him. She knew that he'd been married twice, but why had those two marriages failed? She knew that if this was going to succeed between them, these were things that she needed the answers to. "Castle, I really should be getting home. I'm sure I'm going to have to clean my apartment up after the fumigation. Can we get together tonight for dinner at my place?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," he smiled as he walked over to her and placed his hands on her waist. "Should I bring the wine?"

"I'd like that," she stroked his cheek before softly kissing him. "I'll see you around six."

***CCC***

Come on, come on, come on, come on now

Touch me, babe

Can't you see?

That I am not afraid

What was that promise that you made?

Why won't you tell me what she said?

What was that promise that you made?

I'm gonna love you 'till the heavens stop the rain

I'm gonna love you 'till the stars fall from the sky

For you and I

Kate checked on the Veal Marsala that was simmering on the stove before checking on the pasta that was also cooking. Castle was due any minute and she wanted everything to be ready when he arrived. She walked over to her dining table and lit the two taper candles that decorated the table. Satisfied with how the table looked, there was nothing to do but wait for her boyfriend.

As if on cue, she heard his rap on her door. She walked over and opened it, smiling when she saw him standing there with a bottle of red wine. "Something smells terrific," he kissed her before walking into the apartment.

"Why don't you open the wine and let it breathe?" Kate suggested. "Dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes."

He removed the cork screw from a drawer, now as familiar in Kate's apartment as he was in his own. He used the utensil to expertly remove the cork from the bottle, taking it over to her dining table and setting it down. "Do you need help with anything?"

"No, I've got it under control. How is Alexis feeling today?"

"I think she's better. Mother said that she actually stayed awake long enough to carry on an intelligent conversation today. I suspect she was the one responsible for her mother's early departure."

"Really?"

"Mother told me that Alexis told her that she was worried that maybe Meredith was pumping you for information during your dinner last night."

Kate didn't say anything as she moved the food into serving dishes and found hot pads to set them on before carrying the dishes over to the table. "Was that what was scaring you?" She asked as they both sat down. "Did you think that she was going to pump me for information?"

"You couldn't tell her anything about me that she didn't already know," he grinned as he fixed his plate.

As he looked across the table at his dinner companion, he could tell that she had something on her mind. Her eyes looked dark and troubled, a look that he hadn't seen since they'd first started this phase of their relationship. "Alexis is sweet to think that she has to look out for me," she said as she began to eat.

"Kate, is something wrong? I mean, I know that I should've handled things with Meredith differently and I am really sorry—"

"I guess I'm just a little jealous of how well you get along with her. She seems so comfortable there in the loft and sometimes I still feel like an outsider."

He put his fork down to look at her. "I've always tried to get along with Meredith for Alexis' sake. I hate these divorced parents that are always at odds with each other. It's a miserable situation to put a kid in. I know; I was on the receiving end of the acrimony in many of my mother's failed marriages. But, it took a long time for me to get to that point with Meredith. Kate, I want you to feel at home in the loft. You don't have to feel like an outsider."

"Castle, we said that we're both fully committed to this, remember?" She looked at him as he nodded. "Can I ask what happened between you and Meredith? Even between you and Gina? You've never talked about it, but—"

"You have the right to know," he finished her sentence for her. "You're right. You do have the right to know if you should be worried."

"Castle, that's not why I want to know. I know that I haven't said the words to you yet. Those words have always been hard for me to say. I don't know why. I even explored it with both of my therapists and we couldn't come up with any real answers. I want to know why your marriages failed because they're a part of who you are. They're a part of your story."

"Did you ask Meredith what happened between us?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I did," she admitted. "She told me that she loved being married to you. That you're very romantic and exciting," she reached out and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I couldn't agree more. But she said that you knew everything about her, while she felt like she knew nothing about you. There are times when I feel that way, too. You know about my mother's murder and my father's drinking. You know about all of the things that send me down the rabbit hole, so to speak."

"I was young," he got up from the table. "Hell, we both were. It was crazy. And before either of us could catch our breaths, Meredith found out that she was pregnant. I wasn't about to do to her what my father did," he looked at Kate. "I wasn't going to walk out on my child. But I knew pretty quickly that it wasn't going to work. During the pregnancy all she could do was complain about how much weight she was gaining and how fat she was getting. She never talked about how excited she was about having a baby. Kate, I was so excited about being a daddy," he smiled. "I didn't care if it was a boy or a girl; it was just the thought of having someone that was a part of me. Someone that I could be around for. And when Alexis was born . . . and I held her that first time, it was so perfect."

Kate didn't want to interrupt him. This was the most he'd ever offered about those early years of being with his daughter. So, she refilled both of their wine glasses and took his hand leading him over to the sofa, where they sat close together.

"We tried to make it work, for Alexis' sake. Meredith is self-absorbed, but she tried to be a good mother to Alexis. She did a lot of summer stock and off-Broadway work, so I was with Alexis most of the time. We had a great time together. We'd go to the zoo and the museums and the park," she smiled, remembering when he'd told her of all the times he'd taken Alexis to the park; but also of all of the women he'd picked up. It had been one of her first glimpses into what a great father he was. "One summer, when Alexis was three, Meredith had a movie to shoot in L.A., so I rented us a house in Malibu for three months. I'd gone out to do some shopping one day. When I came home, there was a strange car in the driveway. I went inside and found Alexis playing in the sunroom," his voice choked up as Kate took his hand. "I asked her where mommy was and she told me . . . she told me that mommy was upstairs wrestling on the bed."

"Oh god, Castle," Kate closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she realized what he was telling her.

"I took the stairs two at a time and I . . . I could hear them on the other side of our bedroom door. When I busted in, they didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed. He grabbed his clothes and took off. She was going to take Alexis and leave, but I told her that she could leave, but Alexis wasn't going anywhere. She knew not to fight me on it as pissed off as I was. Two days later, she had me served with divorce papers. I found out the guy was the director on the movie she was working on."

"She didn't want to even try to work things out?"

"Apparently not," he picked up her hand and squeezed it before placing a kiss on her knuckles. "But in the end, I ended up winning because I got to keep Alexis. It saddened me that Meredith didn't even really fight for her, but like I said, I won in the end."

"Yes, you did," she kissed his neck. "I'm so sorry, Castle. I'm so sorry that she hurt you like that."

"I think what pissed me off the most was that she was fucking her director in our bedroom while our daughter was downstairs. If she didn't respect me or our marriage, she could've at least respected our child."

"Again, I'm so sorry," she peppered kisses along his jaw and neck, "but I'm also glad that you told me. Like my mother always told me, there are two sides to every story."

"As for me and Gina, it was just one of those things where business and pleasure don't always mix. Plus, I married her for all of the wrong reasons. I was lonely; I wanted someone there for Alexis. It was just a disaster from the get-go. And when we got back together, I was quickly reminded of how bad it had been. We stayed together for a lot longer than I give either of us credit for."

"Do you think that business and pleasure will continue working for us?"

"It's been working so far," he tilted her chin up and softly kissed her.

"How about we spend the rest of the evening just relaxing," she suggested as she picked up her TV remote. "You're rubbing off on me, Castle," she went to her Playlist menu for her DVR. His eyes lit up when he saw what she'd been recording.

"'The Walking Dead?' Kate, this is so cool!"

"I have to admit that at first I thought a show about the zombie apocalypse sounded kind of stupid, but I've really gotten into it," she clicked on the current episode and they both began watching.

Castle loved how Kate would duck into his shoulder and clutch at his arm on some of the gorier moments. But they both jumped a foot in the air and shouted 'No fucking way!' as the episode reached a surprising climax. "But when you think about, we should've seen it coming," he pointed out after the episode was over. "After all, they had all been searching for her for weeks. We should have figured it out when Glenn saw the walkers in the barn."

"And we call ourselves detectives," Kate was still shaking her head.

"No, you call yourself a detective. I'm a civilian."

"I still can't believe it. Nobody's safe on that show."

"Which is what makes it great," he pulled her close and began nibbling on her neck. "And for the record, Kate, I think we're doing great. In fact, we get better every day."

I'm gonna love you 'till the heavens stop the rain

I'm gonna love you 'till the stars fall from the sky

For you and I

Stronger than dirt

A/N #4: Fans of 'The Walking Dead' will probably figure out which scene I used. That show has so many great 'Oh, shit' moments. That was one of the first ones that I thought of. The other one happened in a later season, so it didn't fit with my S-5 chapter, but it had to do with the brother of a main character.

I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960 and on Tumblr Caskett1960.