The Heart Won't Lie
by Castlefan6
Authors Note: This is Totally AU; Beckett has left for D.C and the Feds. This describes the activity of each, during the time away from each other, NO PROPOSAL, before she left, but plenty of ANGST. Can they find their way back to each other, or do they even want to? It blends some Canon dialog, courtesy of Dust Jackets Dot Com, then goes quickly and completely AU. What were each up to during this time, Taking Literary License to fill in the blanks.
A/N: CASKETT ENDING IS NOT GUARANTEED. : CASKETT ENDING IS NOT GUARANTEED.
I don't own Castle; I use the characters for amusement purposes only, except the ones I create.
Also, we take liberties with the timeline from Canon and use events to make this a more believable fiction, thanks.
Thanks to reader pmt0622 for the prompt:
A CASKETT ENDING IS NOT GUARANTEED.
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Chapter 11
Castle Loft
Christmas Morning
Rick hadn't given too much more thought to the events at the MADT gala since they had left when the festivities had died down. Alexis and Thad, her boyfriend had arrived, and after a quick private meeting with Abby, Alexis rejoined the group, this time hugging Serena upon her entry. He knew that Alexis liked Abby, a great deal, and was worried how she would take what appeared to be revolving doors in his love life. Abby must have said the words to set her mind at ease, then settled into her new, actually old, beau, Keith Polson.
FLASHBACK TO ABBY's CONVERSATION WITH ALEXIS
As soon as Alexis and Thad had arrived at the loft, she could tell something was off with the older adults, she was 21 now, an adult, but still felt like her Dad tried to keep her his little girl sometimes. Abby stepped forward and asked to speak with her in private while Thad took care of their luggage. She stored the surprise batch of glogg, she had followed her Grams recipe and hoped it would turn out close to hers.
As they stepped into Rick's office, Alexis could tell something was wrong, so she made it easy. "Abby if there's something you want to tell me about you and Dad, then please do. Otherwise, I'll be thinking something is wrong with one of you two" she smiled
"Your Dad's right, you're a remarkable woman, and yes honey there is something I need to tell you. You know some of our stories, that is your Dad and me, but honey there were chapters we both left out." She said,
"Do you mean about how you got tired of waiting for Dad, dated and fell in love with Keith Polson, then he had to leave, for some reason, and you almost got married? Dad stopped that, I think you might have been his agency's very first case. I take it that the man sitting in our living room is the very same Keith, and when I saw Serena Kaye here, I was going to bust Dad for hurting you." She said as Abby hugged her
"No, Sweetie, he would never do that, he couldn't hurt anyone he cares about no matter how badly they have treated him. I was surprised that he just wished Kate a Merry Christmas and told her they had nothing to talk about, I don't think he's over that hurt, nor should he be, not just yet." She said as she dabbed her eye,
"You got it right Alexis, that is Keith, and the timing was like it always was with Rick and me, perfect. She showed up at his office at RCE to review the insurance company's needs and didn't even know it was your father who owned it. She had heard that he and Beckett had gotten together, and to steal her line, "she no longer took things that didn't belong to her"
"So, Abby, how did you reconnect with Keith, Dad always told me you let your true love get away, and he was just a place keeper for him," Alexis said,
"Your Dad was never a place keeper, I love him, I know that sounds strange but when he was with your mother, Keith saved me. I almost lost it, then he reminded me I deserved to be loved, and he did love me. You asked how we reconnected and who made the first move I believe?"
"I was shopping for accessories for the gown your Dad had made for the gala, and not paying attention, I literally knocked him over as he bent to pick something up. We talked for two hours, I was so very happy and wanted to die at the same time if that makes sense. I was happy for myself, but I was so sad that I was going to have to have the talk with your dad.
"He said more than once the four words a man hates to hear is We need to talk, and when I said them, he thought I had found out about Serena before he came home to tell me. He was so upset that he hurt me when it all came out, you can imagine his theory for why" She smiled,
"The Universe? Him and that damn universe. But Abby, I'm glad you explained things to me, I don't want to hate anyone that makes Dad happy. I don't believe in taking things that aren't mine either, so you've made it easy to accept her, as long as she treats Dad right, I'm fine with it. To be honest, I'm glad he didn't go running back to Beckett, she's broken his heart I don't know how many times. This time he may be over her for good, so, thanks for telling me" she hugged Abby, knowing she would see much less of her now.
CURRENT TIME CHRISTMAS MORNING
Rick had abandoned the old tradition of the Christmas Eve celebration after Alexis had left for college, then after Martha died, he was hard-pressed to carry on any tradition at all. Alexis to her credit, along with Gina, was always there, or wherever he was. They made sure that he never spent Christmas day alone and had plenty of small gifts to open, he was still the little boy inside his man body that they both loved.
This Christmas the loft was full, almost as full as Rick's smile. Gina and Harry, her boyfriend of the last year and some months, Abby and Keith, Serena next to him, and Alexis next to Thad, showed that he truly was a lucky man. He was the life of the morning, and his smile only increased as he observed the opening of presents, he had purchased for everyone, how the hell he did that, he would never tell.
The moment that choked him up was when Alexis asked him to place Gram's ornament on the tree, it was a small angel she had since she was a little girl. He remembered several Christmases that there was no tree, no money, and very little food, but Martha, always made things happy. He returned to his chair just as Alexis came from the kitchen,
"Taste this Dad, if it's terrible I'll just pitch it." She said as she wrinkled her nose, a trait she had since she was a little girl.
He took a sip, his eyes flew open, then he sipped again, "Alexis, is this Gram's glogg?" How, I mean, it's just like she made it this morning, Thank you, sweetheart." He wiped at his eyes, Serena, sitting on the arm of his chair, her arm around him, just dabbed them so nonchalantly, like they had been a couple for years, rather than a few days. She kissed him gently and whispered something in his ear, that made him smile.
The tree, the meal, the glogg, and the people gathered all seemed to roll back time for Rick, he was happy. Truly happy for the first time, in a very long time. He saw Abby's eyes sparkle every time Keith would pay her a compliment. Love can't be erased simply with time apart; the proof was sitting just across from him.
XxX
12th Precinct NYPD
Christmas Eve
Kate had worked the morning shift but left at noon to get some rest, she was pulling her typical midnight shift again as usual. It has been her tradition for years, and even the one year she left to be with Castle, she had felt guilty. She tried to hide it, but Rick had called her on it and even said, he was on his way to be with her for her tradition if that meant so much to her. She thought to herself, who the hell does that? Give up the life of his family to spend the long, lonely hours in a police precinct with the one they love.
She shook her head to try to forget an earlier time, a time when she had the world and didn't even realize it. She had been reviewing the pictures from the MADT gala, and the few hits they were able to get from the photographs, so far. God, there were thousands, and what they had uncovered so far were three wealthy men spending time with their girlfriends rather than their wives, not a crime, but still suspicious in some cases.
She pulled the next batch and began her review only to reveal pictures of herself sitting at the table with Tom standing behind her, deep in conversation with Heidi. The next few shots were just more of the same, then she saw a closeup of the young man in the kitchen uniform and got the same shivers she had that night she first saw him. It was almost as if she were staring into the face of her mentor, friend, and deceased captain, Roy Montgomery. The young man could pass as his double, and fool even Roy's closest friends.
She noted the name on the uniform, and made a note to follow up, not as part of the criminal investigation but to satisfy her need to know, how two people could look so much alike. She continued to view the pics until she spotted a man in at least four of the pictures from each set. He seemed to have his hand on his glasses as he visited some of the elite donor tables. Then it hit her, he didn't have to be so overt as in their previous case, the camera was in his glasses, and he was casing each table for potential future scores.
She set the pics aside since only a skeleton crew would be in until after New Year's Day. She hoped that the hustle of the holidays would prevent the robber/murderer from striking again until she could get more of a clue who the mystery man was. It seemed to be following the same pattern, or close to it as the Delgado case had that she and Rick had worked.
She glanced up at the clock, one of the only noises on the almost completely empty bullpen, 3:47 AM, time for another cup of coffee, a few more hours, and the day shift would be coming in at 8:00 AM rather than 7:00 AM, today, Christmas day only.
She thought to herself, the only one who had wished her a Merry Christmas was her Dad on his way to his cabin, and, eh, damn it, Rick, with two beautiful women on his arms. He threw it out, more like a parting shot to get away from her, as she pressed him for some time to explain. Explain? Even in her own mind, she knew there was no explaining that would make the situation any less hurtful.
First the deceit, the talk with Stack. Then the lie, flying to DC for an interview, an interview that Gates knew about before her supposed one and done. Then the argument, her feeble attempt to justify her actions, EXACTLY what Sorensen had done to her, as justifiable now that it was HER LIFE.
What an ass she had been, then making the situation even more impossible to come back from. She had gone to a bar, had too much to drink, and slept with her boss, her married boss, although to her credit she didn't know he was married at the time she fucked him. The one thing she always accused Castle of wanting she became, a notch on his bedpost, just that it wasn't Rick. She fell hook, line, and sinker for a line designed for cops with big egos, and before she realized her mistake, it was too late.
Gates was the only redeeming quality in the entire experience, switching the resignation paperwork to extended unpaid leave forms was a genius move. She knew in her heart that Kate was making a huge mistake, but she also knew that even if she tried to warn her, it would only have pushed her further towards leaving.
Her hopes of the killer taking the holidays off were short-lived, she had only taken the first sip of a hot cup of coffee when her phone rang at 4:19 AM,
"Beckett" she answered in her normal pattern,
"Sorry Detective, but we have a live one, 105th and First avenue, neighbor heard a disturbance, loud enough to wake her and her husband up, and saw a man fleeing, down the stairwell. Her neighbor's front door was wide open so she called 9-1-1. Patrol cars were dispatched and just verified it is the scene of a homicide." Yolanda the long-time police dispatcher said,
"Thanks, Yolanda, you said 105 and First? As much as I hate to do this, call Esposito and Ryan to the scene as well" as she verified the address, and pulled her team together.
"Correct Detective, I'll take care of notifying your team, and, Merry Christmas," she said as she hung the phone.
Merry Christmas indeed, she was on her way to a homicide when most families were sneaking back into bed after perpetuating the myth of the jolly old fat man in a red suit bringing presents to good little boys and girls. She was sure that parents hated the three words, "Some Assembly Required" almost as much as they did losing a good night's sleep and drinking warm milk with stale cookies.
Kate gathered her purse, gun, and coat and headed out to face the cold of a New York winter as well as the cold lifeless victim of their latest murder. She had no clue if it was associated with the rash of burglaries, one turning fatal or not until she had an opportunity to investigate. The neighborhood was nice, but not one the affluent would normally live in. It was located only a few blocks from Bleeker Street, a sight of a previous home invasion.
As she pulled up on the location, she noticed Esposito's car and Ryan was just pulling up behind her. She gathered her purse, got out, and went to greet her team.
"I'm sorry guys, I was hoping we could go one day without someone killing someone, but I guess I wasn't a good girl so Santa didn't get my wish. You look tired Keven, are you OK?" she asked as she noticed the typically perfectly attired detective with tossed hair and just a shadow of a beard.
"Yeah, I'm tired Kate, Jenny, and I were assembling the toys that Santa was going to bring Sara Grace, and as usual, we never see things the same way when it comes to building something. Her Dad had just arrived to rescue the day as I was leaving. Tell you the truth, a pissed off Jenny, or crime scene, I'll take crime scene every day" he said,
"Well, sorry Espo, I hope I didn't wreck any of your plans, it's unusual you beat me to the scene, you live farther away than I do," she said,
"Well, I was out for a ride, I couldn't sleep, so I was just driving around when the streets are fairly empty," he said with a sad tone,
They walked towards the apartment, Espo holding the yellow tape back so she could walk under and to the first patrol officer on the scene. He repeated pretty much what Yolanda had told her when she dispatched the call, except he added the witness name and apartment number.
The victim lived across the hall, and according to everyone they had spoken to, had kept to himself, not saying anything to anyone. No one even knew he had a state-of-the-art wall safe installed or had jewelry insured for almost 4 million dollars.
"Where's the victim now?" Kate asked as she started toward the apartment,
"He's in the living room, appears he attempted to defend himself, the 38 caliber on the floor is registered to him. The shots in his torso appear to be larger, perhaps a 45 but that's the ME's job." The officer said,
"Speaking of, where is Lanie? I thought she would be with you Espo" Kate said, just as a shiny new sports car pulled up, Lanie exiting, and walking to the driver's side speaking lowly.
"Well, Kate, things change, if you haven't noticed." He said as he walked away,
"That's her fiancé Kate, Javi, and her split the week you left for DC. She said she couldn't be Castle and wait forever, even he had reached his limit. She told him he had a choice, either they got serious, or they were over. He laughed, but he's not laughing now. " Kevin said, "one of the reasons I think she's playing it so hard with you, she doesn't want to be reminded about the old days".
Kate decided it would be best if she approached the crime scene and let Lanie be the professional that their relationship had come to. She walked the scene, the safe was open, and a few pearls apparently from a strand that had broken while they were being stolen. The victim was a male in his 50's, three gunshots in his chest, but she wasn't about to tread on Lanie's area, not like she did in old days.
She walked over to another patrol officer who seemed to be holding a group of men dressed in expensive suits back, from entering the crime scene.
"What's going on Patrolman?" she asked just as the young man in a suit turned to face her, it was him, Roy's doppelganger. She caught her breath as the patrolman responded.
"This is the crew from RCE Investigations, with permission of the Commissioner, and Mayor to observe and investigate ONCE the scene has been cleared by the responding team. They said you would know about the arrangement" the patrolman responded,
"Who's in charge of your group?" she asked more to collect herself for a moment,
"I'm surprised you don't recognize me, Detective, Dad always talked about you, up till the day he died." The young man said with the same half-smile Roy always had,
"Junior? You can't be, the last time I saw you, I eh,"
"I was leaving for college, I had been admitted to the Naval Academy at age 17, hell I thought Dad took out a full-page ad in the NY Times," he said,
"He was very proud of you, I didn't hear too much about you, well the last year or so. I figured you had started your own life, and well your Dad got very busy." Kate said,
"Thanks for trying to cover for him Detective, Mom told me all about what happened when I came home for the services. I'm surprised you didn't see me, but then you had your own crisis. I was overseas, doing a job Dad didn't agree with, that's all that needs to be said, and now I manage Rick's Investigation Division, I have for the last three years." He said,
"Well, I saw you at the MADT gala and almost had a heart attack, you look so much like your father," she said,
"Thanks, Detective, just let us know when we can do our sweep if you will, it was good to speak to you" as he turned and met with his team of four men, dressed very similar to him. Kate turned and saw that Lanie was now about to take off her gloves,
"What do we have Doctor Parrish?" She asked showing no emotions,
"Three GSW's probably 45 caliber, time of death probably less than 4 hours, more definitive results will be available when we get him to the lab." She answered like a robot,
"Did you find any Identification on the body, we didn't touch or disturb the scene when we arrived" Kate said softly, the strained relationship with a woman who had been her best friend was hurtful, but she had to play the cards that Lanie dealt.
"His driver's license matches his face, and other articles in his wallet, he's Mr. Tony Glasser, age 61, all the details match. Anything else detective?" Lanie asked,
"No Doctor, thank you" she responded, as Lanie motioned for her crew to remove Mr. Glasser and transport him to the morgue.
"Espo, Ryan, the team over there is Castle's with permission and blessing from the Commissioner and Mayor, so are you done with your preliminary investigation of the scene, I have to release it to them," Kate said, a little more bitter than she meant.
"Kate, Rick didn't ask to come back here for this shit, so take it easy on him. He's trying to do his friend a favor, and well us as well. Who the hell cares who solves this damn case, two people are dead, now is not the time for ego, and yes, I'm done" Ryan said as he walked away,
"Release the scene Kate, and check your attitude, before Boyle kicks your ass down to the 117 precinct," Javi said as he joined his partner,
Merry Christmas indeed. She walked over to Montgomery the third, Junior as she knew him, and just said, "Tell Castle the scene is all yours, Merry Christmas by the way" she said as she walked away. If he heard, he didn't acknowledge, but the team was immediately on the scene with the latest in scientific tools and toys. Typical Castle she thought, then kicked herself, Ryan was right, he didn't ask for this, especially not the face-to-face encounter with her, Demming, and a ton of hurtful memories.
TBC