A Long Way Home

by Castlefan6

Authors Note: Another What If based on the episode, COUNTDOWN, what happened if Rick didn't return to the precinct after leaving after seeing Kate in Josh's arms? It starts with Canon dialog, courtesy of Dust Jackets Dot Com, then goes quickly and completely AU. The journey continues with a new Kate and Rick, hope you enjoy!

I don't own Castle; I use the characters for amusement purposes only, except the ones I create.

A/N This may or may not end up as a Caskett fic, if that bothers you, please wait for updates to see which direction the story goes. Respectful comments are always welcome, trolls will be deleted.

Also, we may take liberties with the timeline from Canon and use events to make this a more believable fiction, thanks.

Previously

"I'm sorry, this is tough timing, but I heard another lie after you promised you would always be truthful to me. Well, I want you to get well, then we'll see how you feel emotionally, right now, I think you're looking for another long-distance, I don't have to invest much in a relationship, and Kate, that's not me. With me in London, you would be sure I wouldn't crowd you, or ask you to stop doing the thing that put you in that hospital bed, almost a grave beside your Mom."

"Rick, please, I do love you, you have to believe me."

"Kate, I DO believe YOU believe that work on it with your therapist and see if he agrees. I'm sorry if you need something you know how to reach me, and yes, it's through Beth. I know she has feelings, deep feelings for me, but you see, she would do anything to make me happy, anything.

"I'm not there, not yet, but Kate, take a look at your life, what chasing this man has done, to you, your Dad, how much more will it take for you to see, it's not worth it, and I'm sorry, I really don't think your Mom would want you to live like this. Once again, I stuck my nose in your business, so before I say more to piss you off, get well soon, Kate, I do love you, but not enough to be second in your life. Goodbye"

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Chapter 21

Thursday, Day after Visit to Kate Beckett

11:30 PM Castle's Loft

Rick and Beth returned to the Loft, after a lovely dinner, and almost two hours of conversation without interruptions, for the first time in a long time, Rick felt a peace come into his life. Gina had started the process, but being with Beth, the feeling was almost like, it was meant to be, and everything was right with the world.

They had a drink while sitting on the couch, both were nervous, but that wore off quickly when Beth took his hand stood up and started towards the bedroom.

"Rick, if you don't want this, or if it's too early, I can wait, but I can't tell you how long it's been since I have wanted a man as much as I want you right now. Please take it slow, I haven't been with anyone since my divorce, I know that sounds awful, but I wanted the next time to be special."

"You don't believe everything you saw on page six do you, it's been a while for me as well. I know everyone assumes Gina and I were back, I love her, but we both agreed the physical part would just make both our future lives cloudier, so no, I*"

Her lips were on his and there was no doubt of the source of this kiss, it was passionate, and led to many, many more. Rick worshiped her body, she trembled as she reached heights, she never knew possible and after the third round had discovered a few techniques that would drive Rick crazy as well. She lay in his arms, content, happy, not thinking about anything more than the last few hours with him.

"Sweetie, I hate to ask now, but well, does, I mean, eh,"

"Go ahead and ask Rick, there's not much of me you haven't seen, or know, but if you're asking about Lord Barrow and his feelings about this, I can tell you he will be thrilled."

"Really, I mean there are so many laws here in the states about sexual harassment,"

"Well if anyone would get sacked for breaking a rule, it would be me, remember I'm the employee, you're under contract so their rules don't apply to you, and Lord B told before I met you for me to swallow my pride. if you wanted ladies of the evening, order them and don't get all puffed up about it. He wants you to be happy, and write a series of bestsellers"

"You're kidding, right? You would have had to order, eh well that's ridiculous, I mean"

"You mean you never wanted that, I knew that I caught a few glances, Rick, I wanted you for so long. Gina even told me to be patient, not to push as she had, give you your space and when it happened it would be an explosion. God, I owe her so much, she was spot on, and I promise, this is the last time another woman's name will be mentioned when I'm lying next to you, I just had to tell you,"

Rick wrapped his arm around her, pulled her on top of him, and stared into her eyes,

"Did you ever notice that I never would lock eyes with you? I knew if I did, I was a goner, I love how I can get lost, just staring into your beautiful eyes,"

She leaned down kissed him gently, one kiss led to another, and the rest of the evening was spent satisfying each other. Beth felt like she had never felt before, even if the words weren't said, she knew he cared deeply for her and that was enough, enough for now.

Xx

The next day, Alexis and Gina arrived promptly at one, after notifying Beth that they were on their way, and they had ordered brunch to be delivered. Beth and Rick greeted them at the door, and Gina, knew, by the glow on her face, they had moved to the next level. It was difficult, but not unexpected, so she apparently was what Rick had been looking for, or at least the one he wanted to explore the possibility with.

The time went by so quickly, and the night even quicker, a 6:30 AM Flight meant being at the airport at 4:30 AM, so they didn't bother to go to bed, choosing to sleep on the plane instead of risking oversleeping. Gina caught Beth in a private moment, and whispered to her,

"Congratulations, please don't hurt him, he tries to look tough but he's a softie. Please take care of him, for me, and Alexis" she had tears in her eyes,

"I will Gina I promise you I will, you know I love him, you've known that for months now, so I'm sorry you are hurt, it wasn't our intention, how did you know?"

"You are glowing, you're absolutely beautiful, it's the glow of a woman who's in love with a man that has finally noticed her, and started to reciprocate her feelings, no apologies needed. Please just take care of him"

"I will, I promise."

The goodbyes were longer and harder for everyone, but they finally got out of the loft and on the way to the limo, leaving two women with tears in their eyes holding on to each other. It was great coming home but leaving them was indeed Hell.

Xx

Mercy Hospital

4 Weeks later

Kate had finally progressed enough to be allowed to be discharged from the hospital to a rehab facility in upstate New York earlier in the week. It was a quiet day, she had told no one, except her Dad, she wanted to get settled in and then let the gang at the precinct know what was going on. She also had been doubling down on courses now that she literally had nothing to do but rehab and study, it was still a secret from all except her Dad that she was pursuing her law degree.

Two days before she was discharged, she had a visit from her College Counselor with good news, using her life experience, and police force service was able to shave a few courses off the required list. If she stayed at her studies part-time, she would graduate in 18 months. If for some reason she could attend full time, the time would be reduced to 10 months and then after successfully passing the bar exam, she would be admitted to the New York Bar Association.

She would also have to clerk for a judge for a year, but the plan was coming together, now that Rick had moved on, she realized there were more ways to honor her Mother than the road she had traveled, causing her heartache, and now almost getting her killed. If they could get to her, they could also get to those she loved.

She was motivated to get back to 100% but this time, she was really struggling with career path she should take, until she saw a newsflash come across the TV in her room. It was a familiar face speaking so she turned the volume up to hear Jordan Shaw speaking.

"We were following a lead, when subsequent investigations kept pointing to the Senator, we had no choice but to follow every lead to the path of corruption. It was so significant that today, along with Senator Bracken, we announce the arrest of twenty-four other individuals, including Captain Victoria Gates, head of the 12th precinct where Detective Katherine Beckett works. This group is responsible for the attempted murder of Detective Beckett, and the murder of her mother, an attorney working on an appeals case, Johanna Beckett, 16 years earlier.

"Unfortunately, Detective Beckett was wounded while attending her previous Captain Roy Montgomery's funeral, but her father has filed a multi-million-dollar civil lawsuit on her and her deceased mother's behalf. It is our hope that we not only bring Senator Bracken to justice but also make him pay restitution for just some of the pain and suffering he has caused. We know that no amount of money could ever replace a loved one, but it is our hope that he suffered as he has made others, to him it is a loss of his wealth.

"I have had some questions as to where the lead originated from, as you all know we never disclose our sources, but I can say this, it came from a very credible source, one who had worked with both Captain Montgomery and Detective Beckett and would not let their loss go unpunished. Other than that, we will not release any additional information and urge the press to be careful what is published or broadcasted, you could be endangering life with reckless speculation. Thank You" as she stepped away from the podium

Kate lowered her head, almost in disbelief, it was over they had solved the case, her Mother's case without her. Tears fell until she looked up to see her Dad standing in the doorway.

"Hey Katie, feel like some company, it's over sweetie, Mom has gotten her justice, now we need you to get well and back to us."

She fell into her Dad's arms and wept, "I failed her Dad, I couldn't solve it for all those years, and the Feds solve it in a matter of weeks, I let her down Dad"

"Rick called me and told me you would react this way, I thought you would be happy, but he told me that you would blame yourself for not solving it earlier. He knows you better than I do, but you didn't fail her Katie, you didn't.

"Rick told me he received a package in London, it was from Roy, he got it to Jordan Shaw, who was able to put that file together with the intel they had and that's why the Senator is in jail if you hadn't been shot it would still be unsolved. Now you have to work hard, to show the Bastard at his trial that he may knock you down, but he'll never stop you."

"Rick called you? When?"

"Two days ago, they were getting ready to make the arrests and wanted to be sure you and I were in safe locations in case anything went wrong, he couldn't get to us."

"But how did he know Dad, I mean he's not a cop, and this was far above Mayor Weldon's wheelhouse, how did he know?"

"Katie, he also told me you would figure it out pretty quickly, no more questions OK, please, for his safety as well as yours, just think who did Roy trust with information such as this, and how did it make it to the one Agent you both worked with?"

She knew he had a thing for Agent Shaw, but she was married, wait, her husband, of course, Rick knew her husband, he slipped once and asked her how Tom was, no one knew his name then, they knew each other from long before she showed up for the case. I guess he can keep his mouth shut when it's important, she thought.

Xx

1649 Highway A-309

London, England, SW1W0NZ

United Kingdom

Same Time Frame

Rick and Beth had returned to the UK in a totally different world, one with love and appreciation for each other, gone was the will he, should she? She laid her head on his shoulder as he held her hand almost the entire flight back to England. He loved the willingness of his, girlfriend, whatever tittle you wanted to place on it, she didn't care nor did he, to express her affection for him. For the first time in a long time, he was happy, truly happy.

The first thing they did when they arrived home was move Beth's room to Rick's, no more pretense, no more having someone so close yet so far away. Rick had a conversation with Lord Barrow, so there were no surprises, he didn't know what to expect,

The older man laughed and said, "What took you so long, we were beginning to worry, she's a lovely lady, a lovely human so be good to each other and as long as there are no workplace arguments, I'm fine with it, in fact, I'm happy for you both."

They were returning to face the first big test of his acceptance of the James Bond writer, it was a gamble by Lord Barrow to announce publicly who was the ghostwriter but with Rick's global appeal of his own works, a gamble he was willing to take.

The first few weeks back proved the decision to be the correct one, Rick had started being recognized in public, asked for autographs as both Rick Castle and Sir Ian Fleming. Rick politely refused to sign anything as Ian Fleming, he still held that reverence he had since he was a young boy. The British public were more polite than he was used to, they seemed to understand and if anything, his popularity grew even more by keeping one of their treasured icons sacred.

The only possible hiccup came when Rick had to take a personal and confidential call from Agent Shaw, from the United States. He thought for sure Beth would be upset, but she kissed him sweetly,

"Rick, I know you had a life before me, I know that part didn't end the moment we decided to get together, so go, take care of what you have to do, I'm fine. Besides, she can't touch you on the phone this far away, and I have a feeling it's something to do with Kate, so help if you can, I'll be right here."

Rick looked at her with the love in his eyes, she felt warm all over, "I'll be right back, I promise. You're right, Agent Shaw has news about her shooting, hopefully, they caught the bastard." As he kissed her back, she held his hand, and said "Rick?"

"Yes, Beth?"

"You know it's OK to still love her some, don't you? I mean she held your heart for a few years, you can't just turn that off like a light switch. I mean by love her, I mean it's OK to care and to help her, but no touching," she smiled,

Rick looks at her with a smile on his face, "Thanks Beth, I would never do anything to hurt you, so thanks for being so understanding." He kissed her gently, but it was she that turned it into a long, passionate one,

"I know Rick, and that's why it so easy to say that. I know my happiness is your first priority in everything, I don't say it often enough but I love you,"

Xx

Rick and Jordan discussed the evidence, it was Rick's idea to get Jim and Kate out of New York City, just in case the word got out and someone decided to go down in a blaze. He then called Jim, and let him know that he needed to follow the instructions that Agent Shaw was going to give him to the letter. Also, to get Kate out of the vicinity,

"No problem, Rick, she's checked into The Grove, it's a rehab center near our cabin in upstate New York, and we anticipated something like this so she's using her middle name as her last, so Katherine Houghton is the patient they have. I know you can't say anything, but thank you, Son, I know you have had a lot to do with this, so Thanks."

"I didn't do anything Jim, but I hope she heals up quickly and finds joy in her life, at least this nightmare will soon be over for you both."

"Rick, come and see us, I mean if your lady doesn't mind, I would love to tell you thanks in person the next trip back"

"I'll try Jim and Beth has no problem, she's the one that encouraged me to call you, so take care, and keep safe, call me if you need anything"

As Kate was watching the news from her room, so were Rick and Beth, cuddled together in bed, his big arm pulling her close to him, and her drinking in his aroma.

"I'm glad it's over for them Rick, did you know the Captain that got killed?"

"He was a very good friend, better than I ever had before, and I miss him. He's the reason this case is solved, but the nightmare is over, and now it's time for them to move on,"

"Have you yet Rick? I mean I know you have with me, but have you let go of the hurt yet? Remember she screwed up, we all do, so forgive her, for me, for yourself, please?"

He looked down and he was a goner, there were those eyes,

"I will Beth, I promise I will"

TBC