Second Choice

by Castlefan6

Authors Note: From a fan prompt (Castle goes to the Hamptons alone, while there he and Alexis meet divorced Jordan Shaw and her daughter. A few dinners together lead to a hookup. What happens next? COMPLETELY AU, Some Scenes and events used to enhance the story,

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

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

Chapter 11

Castle's Loft

Two Weeks Later

/_/

Rick had visited the doctor yesterday; well, he was taken to the doctor by his boss and "friend" Jordan to ensure there was no infection and have the stitches removed from the surgery they had performed after removing the shrapnel from his shoulder. The young bank teller had delivered a healthy 8 lb., 4 oz baby boy, and true to her promise had named him Ricardo Manuel Lopez after her hero, Rick.

Jordan didn't or wouldn't sleep more than two nights in a row in the loft, she still maintained her own Condo and was very clear that no matter how close they became, he was free to work things out with Kate or anyone else he desired. She cared for him, hell maybe even loved him, but she wasn't ready to recommit on any level after her divorce, it was too soon.

Rick understood and had explained to Alexis, that two people can feel very strongly about each other, but both had to be ready, not just one, to move to the next level. He knew Jordan, as much as she denied it, still loved her ex-husband and was deeply hurt. She had to get over the hurt before she could move forward with Rick or anyone, and that was a process, not a one-time event.

"Thanks for taking the time to explain that to me Dad, I mean I understand, I guess but I still have one question?" Alexis asked as she sat next to her Dad on one of the rare Dad Daughter moments they shared.

"What would that be Alexis, I bet I can guess, but I don't want to put words in your mouth, you're grown now, and, well I have to accept that my little girl is now my young lady," he said sadly,

She laid her head on his shoulder, "Daddy, no matter how big I get, or how old, I'll always be your little girl, just not out in public, OK?" she said with a shy smile,

"I agree Pum, eh Alexis, I mean we have been all that we had for such a long time, it was you and me kid against the world. I have to realize that you have to live your life, just as I had to push back on Grams, except she just wanted my money" he laughed as Alexis swatted his good shoulder softly,

"Dad, you said that Jordan had to move on, and her ex-husband has hurt her so badly, WHY, would she still hold on to that, I mean, you and she, well, I"

"Sweetie, physical love is much different than emotional. Someday you will understand this, and yes, I love Jordan, she loves me, but our love is based on a physical attraction. We don't share 17 years of watching Mandy grow into the beautiful young lady she is, who by the way Jordan loves your influence on her.

"We share emotions yes, but not the deep emotional love that it would take to move to the next step. Don't be upset, you can't ask someone to give what isn't free to give away. Sadly, even after the hurt, humiliation, and all the disappointment, she still loves Tom, she probably always will.

"I understand, and I only want her to be happy, just as she does me. I know that's deep, but I hope it made some sense to you." Rick said as he held his little girl,

"Dad, you don't have to answer, I think I know, but is that how you feel about Detective Beckett? I know she has hurt you, lied to you, and paraded men in front of you, but did you ever think she was trying to make you jealous so you would say or do something? I mean girls like to be treasured and have guys willing to say, 'hey hands off my woman' even if the lines haven't been defined yet." Alexis asked softly,

"Well, I, well, it's complicated Alexis. I guess I have trouble understanding the lies, making me jealous, I get that, but I never could understand or accept a lie, even with you when you were small." He said quietly, the question had pushed him to rethink some events he had tried to bury. Could it be that simple? But the lie, no excuse for that he pushed the thought back.

"I remember Daddy, the first time I told a fib, you caught me, you said I had tells when I wasn't telling the truth, but I never have figured them out, even to this day." She laughed,

"Well, don't expect me to give away my secret weapon now?" Rick laughed, as Alexis kissed his forehead, and said,

"Well, I'm picking Mandy up and we're meeting Paige at the mall, what're your plans for today father?"

"Well, I have about three chapters to write, for the second novel of Heat, and some edits, so I thought I would write today. Jordan had to go to Washington DC for a conference so I'm free to write without interruptions." He laughed,

"Well, if memory serves me right, you were calling her, begging her to come over for a movie night, but we'll let you stick to your story, see you later, love you Daddy," and she was gone,

Rick grabbed a refresh on his coffee, headed to his office, and pulled up the manuscript for Frozen Heat it was really done, he just had to make some changes to the plotline, but he didn't want to over commit to Gina. He flipped the remote to turn on his music, a CD that he and Jordan had burned together, their apart songs, and began to write.

He had chosen the title of Frozen Heat to show not a geographical or meteorological condition, but a relationship that appeared to be frozen, at least in status between Heat and Rook. His next or the last book in the series was another manuscript he had resurrected and reworked. It also was close to being completed as well.

He had titled the finale of the series Extinguished Heat. Depending upon how much he could push Gina, he would kill any relationship, or feelings but leave the characters physically alive. She put her foot down about another Storm ending where he killed off the character, and he tended to agree with her. Even if he never wrote another book, he could employ ghostwriters, Patterson had done it for years, and still increase his revenue stream. It made sense once Gina had explained the potential plans to him.

XxX

12th Precinct NYPD

Same Time Frame

Kate and her team had been regulated to work with the Federal team, not Rick or Jordan but the underlings, to collect, collaborate, and collate the evidence from not only the New Amsterdam Bombing, but also the attempted murder of Gladys Fields daughter, the former wife of Ron, and potential kidnapping of the son. The murder of Mrs. Fields would be conducted in State court, so they had to be careful not to include anything that could jeopardize either potential court case.

Roy had chewed their asses out, and even now two weeks later still addressed them all with a sense of anger every time he spoke. Esposito had been suspended for one week for lying about reports, he hadn't submitted any paperwork and it took he and Kate 14 hours straight to get his reports typed, corrected, and submitted for the case file.

Kate had tried to keep it quiet, but typical Javi complained about all the hours he had donated, and Roy went nuts again once he found out the truth. He came close to suspending her, he probably would have but thought the grunt assignment for the man she once wanted to shoot, now a celebrated Federal Agent would be a more fitting punishment.

She still didn't understand the picture, even with Castle, eh, Rick, or Rogers or whatever the hell he was being called these days, thorough explanation. It wasn't until she conducted the witness interviews with the ex-wife, daughter of her murder victim, did, she realize the fake deaths, the priest as a middleman, and the safe deposit box to hide from her ex-husband and keep her son safe.

Her ex had been well connected and the real photos of domestic abuse had never been submitted. She had kept her own copies without his knowledge so the list of charges, Federal and state continued to grow daily. She found out that an associate of his, posing as a plumber checking for a gas leak had planted the bug in her mom's apartment.

He had made the mistake of using his real name and entering more than one apartment. One more individual quickly rolled on the ex and accepted a plea deal for his testimony. Funny how quickly the truth could be extracted once conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and it's penalties were explained to the perp.

The entire team had been working 15-hour days without a day off, Roy was not cutting any of them any slack. His comments were, "I want Jordan and Agent Rogers to review your work, I won't be embarrassed with the shoddy results you presented at the last meeting. We have both a Federal and state case that will depend on what the city pays you for, an accurate and fair collection of the facts. I don't give a damn if you need to work 24/7, just get it done, is that clear?"

They also interviewed the local police officers who had supposedly reviewed her domestic abuse claim and submitted their findings to IAB, or Internal Affairs. There would be some detectives looking for other lines of employment soon, as well as possible criminal charges, that was up to the DA.

As Kate was typing up the case summarization, she again marveled at how the hell had Rick put all the pieces together, he had only seen glimpses of the total evidence that her team had, and still could come up with a very plausible, and in this case real scenario. His actions save the life of another battered ex-wife, and although delayed, justice was served.

She had just returned to her desk from delivering the case files to Captain Montgomery when her cell phone rang with Josh's ringtone. They were hanging together, mainly because both had canceled the last few dates where Kate wanted to discuss the seriousness of his commitment. In this latest case, the long days and the source behind her long hours had left her in no mood to be romantic.

"Hello Josh, I thought you were working today," Kate said, fully expecting his voice to return her greeting,

She didn't hear anything at first, well outside of some moans, she immediately began to worry if he had been hurt and was calling for help until she heard it, the loud shriek of a woman engulfed in a sexual tryst. She quickly hit the record app she had downloaded just a few days before, knowing he would try to deny it once she did face him.

More noises were heard, then she heard his voice, "I'm glad these are yours; Kate hasn't got enough up here to even bother with, but these beauties"

"Shut up Josh, you're embarrassing me, just fuck me and shut up, I've got to get back, Marcy is covering for me for 20 minutes" then she heard the rooting and panting sounds, and finally hung up. Apparently, her boyfriend was getting it on with a nurse and had butt-dialed her as he pulled his scrubs down to do the deed.

She held the phone back, not believing the sounds coming from the two as if it wasn't bad enough to cheat on her, but to mock the one part of her body she was always self-conscious about, that Bastard.

Montgomery walked by and saw the look on her face,

"Beckett, is everything OK?" he asked,

"No sir, it's not, that was the building super, I have to get home there might be a gas leak and I need to grab the important papers I have stored; may I take a few hours sir?" she asked,

"Of course, get out of here I hope everything is OK, keep us posted if you need help," Roy said, not believing for one second the super called, he had heard parts of the call, he just hoped she wouldn't shoot the doctor.

XxX

Presbyterian Hospital

Surgical Floor,

Storage Room B

15 Minutes Later

Kate did something she had never done before, she pulled up to the hospital, turned the gumball off, and threw the Police ID placard as she parked in the Emergency Vehicles Only spot and made a dash for the elevator. She made it to his floor and as she approached the nurses' station, she could tell something was wrong, none of the nurses would look at her.

She passed by a storage room and one of the sounds coming from it was Josh's voice just as he was finishing his afternoon delight. Kate swung the door open revealing his bare ass, as well as Nurse McGuire's love nest, and big boobs that she hurriedly tried to cover, not knowing which to go to first.

Josh turned angrily and almost shouted, "What the hell, this is private, then seeing his girlfriend, Kate, wait, it's not what it looks like, I swear, give me a chance to explain."

"Oh, it's exactly what it looks like you two-timing bastard. I hope he was better for you than he was for me, from your sound I think you were faking the orgasm. Not only is he a two-timer, but he's also lousy in bed, so if you think it's just because yours was a quickie, nurse big boobs, you're welcome to take him out for a full test drive.

"Josh, listen and listen carefully, your shit will be at the front desk, if you so much as turn my doorknob, I will blow your ass away, and no one will question a cop, so forget we ever met. No wonder Henry warned me, you are a pathetic piece of crap." She strode angrily, nurse big boobs had collected herself and slinked out of the storage closet, but not before the Head Nurse heard what was going on. She knew more trouble would be coming her way for her actions.

Kate stopped momentarily by the nurse's station, "You know you are all just as guilty as he is, cheating takes two, and you all would rather turn your head than say something. Thanks, you really helped your fellow women with your cowardly actions" as she knocked over a stack of charts on her way to the elevator.

She made her way to the street, retrieved her car, and sped away. She couldn't go home, and she sure as hell wasn't going back to the precinct. She called Roy and asked for the remainder of the day off for personal business, which he granted. She felt like such a fool, she was the one who dumped men, men didn't cheat on her, not make her look like a class act asshole, clueless to what was going on. She was a detective for God's sake, yeah, some detective she thought, then words from Henry's text came rushing back.

Is this what he meant? Was he trying to warn her? Why the hell didn't she run the checks she always did? Was she that big of a fool? Then her thoughts turned to Castle, AKA Rogers, is this how he felt with Will, Deming, and now the doctor? God no wonder he hated her, she hated herself. She had tried to apologize, but that was weeks, hell months ago.

Things had changed, hell he was a Fed now, working with and balling Jordan Shaw. She knew that thought wasn't fair, but she felt some of the indignity he must have felt with her escapades, for the first time since Brad Decker and Maddie she had been cheated on. The feeling hurt just as much decades later as she had remembered.

She had driven to the park, found a legal parking spot, and parked her cruiser. Walking usually helped her to clear her head, the sun was warm, and she needed to clean the static out of her brain for sure. She really hadn't paid any attention to the direction she was heading; it didn't matter, she knew the park well she couldn't get lost.

As she rounded the boathouse, she saw a sight that made her gasp for breath and stop cold in her tracks. Ahead were the three swings usually occupied by small kids, but today there was only one man sitting in one swing facing the opposite direction than she was coming from. It was Rick. It was Castle, or Rogers, or whatever he was calling himself today. She debated silently with herself for a few moments, should she approach him? Would he even talk to her? Could she blame him if he didn't?

She wrestled with her decision but somewhere inside came the voice, "You just caught your boyfriend cheating on you, after he butt-dialed you during the act, how much more humiliating would it be if Rick won't speak to you? My God, get a backbone, will you?" She continued to struggle for a few more moments but finally decided the internal voice was correct, she didn't have much left to lose so why not at least give it a shot.

She kept a wary eye on him as she approached from behind, knowing he was a Federal Agent meant he was armed and could react if she startled him. She walked slowly and purposefully towards the two empty swings and once she reached them sat down, still facing the opposite direction than Rick.

She didn't know what to expect, a greeting, a look, something, but Rick continued to stare straight ahead almost trance-like. He was deep in thought as he sometimes got when she saw him write when they had taken her in after Dunn blew up her apartment. If he was aware of her presence, he hadn't made the slightest indication of it. Finally, after several minutes, she heard his voice.

"What brings you out in the middle of the day Detective? I don't see any active cases that you're investigating" he said in an even tone, not indicative of any mood, in fact, if anything it was without any emotions.

"Hi Rick, it's a long story, and actually I didn't know you would even be here. I had a rough morning and had to get away for some peace before I went home and threw out anything that the cheating bastard Josh has left in my apartment. I caught him screwing a nurse at the hospital, the stupid bastard actually butt-dialed me during the session." She said, anger still in her voice.

"Sorry to hear that Detective, I've been there, and to find an unfaithful partner is one of the worst feelings in the world," Rick said, with the same tone, still not even looking over in her direction.

"Could I ask you what you're doing here Rick, I mean, I know you're with Jordan now, are you still on medical leave from your surgery? I'm sorry you got hurt, and I'm sorry I wasn't a better partner. I didn't even know that you had a heart attack and procedure last year, why on earth wouldn't you tell me something like that?" She had tears in her voice,

"Well, that's multiple questions, first I'm on my way back from a meeting with Black Pawn, next, my medical leave was over last week, thank you for your condolences for my injury, but none are needed, and my situation with Jordan or anyone else is private, as you used to say, it's really none of your business.

"Last, we were never partners Detective, even as much as I tried to be, you never allowed that line to be crossed. With that, why in the world would I tell someone, a work colleague any of my private business? Even if I wanted to, you were too busy with your parade of men to have time to talk about anything but them, so thanks but forget it" he said still in that damn non-emotional voice that was beginning to piss her off.

"Rick, can you at least look at me when you talk, and please, do you have to use my title, can't you just call me Kate? Is that too much to ask?" she pleaded with her anger beginning to show,

"Sorry Detective, it's an FBI thing" he threw back at her, and she remembered word for word when she had thrown that barb at him, "It's a cop thing Castle, you'd never understand"

"Rick, I don't want to fight, I want to apologize, look I know I was a bitch, in so many ways to you, and I'm sorry, truly sorry. Can you please look at me? I mean it, I never intended to hurt you, but I know that I did. I know you hate me, and you have the right, but please will you at least allow me to say I'm sorry?"

"What are you sorry about Kate? That you did it, or that your boy toys didn't work out the way you had hoped? No apologies needed, we're good. Excuse me I have another meeting to get to, stay safe Detective" and he was up and gone before she could collect her thoughts.

TBC