A/N: Hello again! I do sincerely apologize for it being so long since I last uploaded a story. Well, here I am again, with another story from a writing challenge that Natalie Elizabeth and I gave ourselves. For those of you who remember, Natalie Elizabeth and I did a writing challenge back in October and thought it would be fun to do another one. Be sure to check out her story "Love is Everything" over on her page. I hope you all enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Castle. Castle will always belong to Andrew Marlowe and ABC.
What's Going On?
Best-selling mystery novelist, Richard Castle, arrives at the 12th precinct around 11:30am. He rides the elevator up to the Homicide floor. Once arriving on the homicide floor, he gets off the elevator and slowly walks towards Detective Beckett's desk. When he arrives at her desk, it's empty. Instead of looking around for where she could be, he takes a seat in his chair beside her desk. While he waits, he looks through his phone. He doesn't even look at the murder board beside him, to see if there are any new updates on their latest case.
Kate walks back to her desk, coming from the direction of the restroom, and sees Castle sitting in his chair. She looks at her desk and notices there aren't any coffee cups sitting on her desk. She thinks to herself, that's strange. Castle didn't bring coffee. He always comes in with coffee, no matter what time of the day it is. She sees him looking at his phone and calls out to him as she approaches her desk. "Hey, Castle."
Castle locks his phone and sets it down on the desk. He gives her a small smile. "Hey."
Kate sits down in her desk chair and looks around her desk. She already knows there isn't any coffee, but she wants to make him think she hasn't noticed. "No coffee, Castle?"
"Hmm?" He looks over her desk and realizes what she just said. "Oh, sorry. I'll go make you one."
As he starts to get up from his chair, she takes a good look at him. She can tell something is up. Kate reaches over to gently place her hand on top of his. "Castle? Is everything okay?"
Castle furrows his brows. "Yeah. Why?"
Beckett removes her hand from atop his and gives him a concerned look. "I don't know. Something just seems off. You're not your usual self. Plus, you forgot the coffee. You always bring coffee when you first arrive, regardless of the time of day."
"Everything is just swell."
Beckett doesn't believe him. She knows something is going on. She doesn't push the issue any further. "Okay, whatever you say, Castle."
Castle walks to the breakroom to make a cup of coffee for Beckett. He returns to her desk a few minutes later, with her coffee in hand. He hands the cup to her. "Here you are, detective."
She smiles at him. "Thanks."
He walks around her, picks up his phone off the desk and puts it in his pocket. He takes in a deep breath and slowly releases it. "I'm uh… I think I'm gonna head home. I have some things to take care of."
Beckett is taken aback. "Are you sure? You've only been here for a few minutes."
"Yeah. There are some things I need to take care of at home, but I also want to get a little bit of writing done. You know, make Gina happy? To keep her off my back." He turns and walks toward the elevator.
Kate calls out to his retreating back, "see you later, Castle."
Castle doesn't respond. He walks into the elevator and looks down at the floor as the elevator doors close.
Beckett knows something is wrong. It's not like Castle not to say "goodbye". She is determined to find out what's going on with him. As soon as her shift is over, she'll head over to the loft and find out what's wrong.
Castle sits at his desk staring at the blank page on his computer screen. He hears a knock on the door to the loft. He looks at the time on the bottom of the screen. It's already 7pm. He can't believe how fast the time has gone. He stands up from his desk and walks to the front door. When he opens the door, he sees Kate standing before him. "Hi."
"Hey. Can I come in?"
Without saying a word, Castle takes a step to the side and gestures for her to enter.
Kate walks into the loft carrying a bag of take-out food. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought you some dinner. I figured after your mood at the precinct, you wouldn't have eaten anything."
"Thanks." Castle closes the door to the loft and walks over to the couch. He sits down on the couch and leans against the armrest.
Kate sets the bags of food on the kitchen counter. From where she stands, she turns around to see Castle sitting on the couch. Castle is quiet… too quiet. This is so unlike him. Sensing that something is really bothering him, she abandons the food on the counter and takes a seat next to him on the couch. He has barely said anything to her all day, not that she was keeping track or anything.
She rests her right hand on his left knee. "Hey", she says gently, getting his attention. "What's going on Castle?"
Castle just shakes his head. Kate lifts her head to look around the loft, checking to see if there are any signs of what could be bothering him. When she scans the room, her eyes land on some boxes sitting at the bottom of the stairs. How did she not notice those there, when she walked by them on her way to the kitchen? Seeing the boxes, she remembers that Alexis moved into the dorms that morning. Then a lightbulb goes on in her head. He's upset because Alexis moved out.
Kate rubs her hand over his knee. "Hey, look at me."
He lifts his head and turns to look at Kate with tears starting to form in his eyes.
"How are you holding up?" Noticing the tears in his eyes, she moves her right hand to rub circles on his back, while placing her left hand over his left wrist.
"I think you know how I'm holding up."
"Yeah, I can see that. It's going to be okay. She's not going to be gone forever. Her dorm is only a few miles away."
Castle's eyes start to water more. "Yeah, but it's not here. When I come home, she won't be here. I don't get to come home to her anymore. My baby is all grown up."
"True, but the good thing about her being so close, is that she can come home whenever she wants. When she needs you, you'll be there in a flash. Heck, there even may be times when she'll surprise you and she will be here when you come home at the end of the day."
He can't hold back his tears any longer. The tears roll down his cheeks. "I knew this day would eventually come, but I didn't think it would happen so soon."
Kate lifts her left hand to wipe the tears from his cheeks. "It's going to be okay. YOU'RE going to be okay, you know why?" Castle shakes his head. "Because you are not alone, Castle. Martha is here. Lanie and the boys are here… I'M here." She gives him a quick peck on the cheek. "I know we still have to keep our relationship a secret, but whenever you need me, I'll be here. If there is ever anything you want or need to talk about but can't/don't want to do it at the precinct, let me know and we'll meet up somewhere and talk." Kate takes both hands and grabs Castle's face, so he's looking her in the eye. "You've always been there for me. It's my turn to be here for you. Let me be here for you."
"Kate, you don't have to."
"I know I don't have to. But I want to." She wipes the tears off Castle's face. "Come on, let's eat. Something tells me you haven't eaten since breakfast." Beckett takes Castle's hand and leads him to the kitchen where their dinner awaits.
The End
I hope you enjoyed this story. It's based on the season 5 episode "Secret's Safe with Me". I never noticed it before, but after watching the episode again, I felt something was missing, especially after Alexis moves into her dorm. So, I wrote what I would have liked to have seen between Castle and Beckett. Please be sure to read my friend, Natalie Elizabeth's newest story "Love is Everything".