Five:
Kate looks over at her phone sitting on the nightstand beside her. 5:45 am, her normal wake up time. Looking to her left, she sees the sleeping form of Tom Demming apparently having a pleasant dream, if the smile on his face was any indication. She knew this entire weekend had been a huge mistake, but had no idea how to correct it.
They ended up eating dinner at a run down diner a few miles from their cabin after learning that the fancy French restaurant they intended to eat at required reservations... weeks in advance. After a less than romantic meal, they returned to the cabin along with bottle of the finest champagne that the local gas station/liquor store had available.
The sex was simply that, sex. No emotions involved, merely the scratching of an itch. Tom quickly fell asleep, leaving her to second guess every choice that she had made that led her to this moment. She looked at Tom and knew that he wasn't what she was looking for, but had no idea how to end things without him hating her as much as Rick did.
Kate was sure that Rick hated her and knew it was all her doing. Her put downs of his theories, repeated threats of shooting him combined with her silence as Tom and Espo taunted him about not being a cop only made things worse, if that was possible.
The PDAs that she and Tom put on for everyone in the precinct to see were stupid and Kate had hoped that they would make Castle as jealous as she felt hearing about him and that skank starlet Ellie Monroe. But Rick didn't take the bait, convincing her that he really didn't care. That ended up pushing her closer to Tom and amping up their embarrassing displays for all in the twelfth to see.
She spent the next hour preparing her speech for Tom as soon as he awakes. It was time to make things right. If it wasn't too late already.
X-X-X-X
Jennifer emerges from her room, dressed in only an oversized novelty tee shirt that she managed to change into sometime during the night. Rick was wearing only a pair of jeans and was talking on the room's phone and does a double take upon seeing her. Her long shapely legs were always her best attribute and the tee shirt revealed them to their best. She tries to hide her smile seeing his reaction to her.
He ends the call and looks at her standing there giving his shirtless torso the same type of appraising look that he had given her legs and remarks. "I see you couldn't sleep either. I went ahead and ordered coffee. I didn't know how you liked it, so I made sure to get a little of everything."
In spite of the fact that it was only 6:00 am there, their bodies were still on New York time where it was three hours later and they both felt as if they had overslept. With no agenda, the two leisurely enjoyed their coffees. Rick learns that like him, she enjoyed an extra strong roast, with just a touch of half and half, nothing pretentious. They talked about nothing in particular and simply seemed to enjoy each other's company.
There was something about her that made him feel that he could let his guard down, something he was only capable of doing with his daughter and mother. He had tried with Beckett and quickly discovered that she seemed to have even less interest in Richard Alexander Rodgers than she did in Richard Edgar Castle. So he became a hybrid of sorts personality wise when around her or the boys, a toned back version of the person portrayed in the gossip magazines, but a far cry from the man that would rather play laser tag with his daughter than a night out at an exclusive club. He had become court jester for Kate and her team, offering whacky theories and bad puns.
The two finally dressed and after a light breakfast, headed out to see the area. In spite of it being the off season, there was still quite a few people in the city for the holiday weekend. They spent the remainder of the day driving farther up into the mountains, admiring the still snow covered peaks in the distance.
As they returned to the city, Jennifer couldn't help but notice the number of wedding chapels that were present on the Nevada side of the city and asked Rick if he had ever been inside one before. He gave her a look as if she had asked for a kidney or other vital organ in response which made her laugh and reply. "Calm down Rick. I was only curious about what they looked like. I wasn't asking you to marry me."
Seeing panicked look on his face soften, she decides to tease him again. "Not that I wouldn't..."
They arrived back at the hotel a few minutes after five and decided on dinner at one of the upscale restaurants there. They retired to their rooms to prepare for their 'date'. While Jennifer made sure that she put her best assets on display in a low cut, skin tight, little black cocktail dress, Rick dressed in a sport coat, slacks, and red shirt and second guessed the entire situation. Jennifer was a beautiful woman. A woman that two years ago, would have been in his bed by now. He knew it was stupid, but he felt as if he was cheating somehow. On whom, he had no idea as Beckett was off on her getaway with Demming and probably in bed at this moment.
Slipping into her matching black four inch heels, she gives the tops of her thigh high stockings a final tug before smoothing out her dress and admiring the view in the mirror. Pleased with what she saw, Jennifer grabbed her small clutch purse and exited her bedroom. The look on Rick's face upon seeing her enter the room made all of her effort worthwhile.
X-X-X-X
Kate had decided that in spite of the fact that she was sure that there was no future for her and Tom, she chose to stay for at least another day before telling him that they were through. On one hand, it was simply delaying the inevitable, while she opted to see it as giving him one last chance to prove her wrong.
Unfortunately, her fears were correct. It was only delaying the inevitable, as her breakup speech came along with the desert of the dinner they shared that evening. The old 'it's not you, it's me' speech she had prepared offered little solace to Tom, who was clearly stunned by the revelation.
"This is about him isn't it? You have feelings for him?" Tom questions with a mix of hurt and anger in his voice.
Kate considers his questions, not knowing how to respond. The truth, that he was only supposed to be someone that would make Castle feel as jealous of him as she felt of Ellie Monroe, would only make things worse. Instead she opted for a version of the truth. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have let things go as far as they did. I like you Tom, I really do... but I'm not ready for a serious relationship right now... with anyone. And you're right, I do have feelings for Castle... but not romantic ones. He was the best partner I've ever had and saved my life on numerous occasions. He tried to quit working with me after I had to choose between saving his life or finding out who hired the man that killed my mother. But I talked him out of leaving, telling him how he helped to make my job easier. And that was the truth."
"Castle and I were never anything more than coworkers. His crazy theories helped me close more than a few cases, yet I sat there in silence as you ridiculed them. But that wasn't enough, you had to constantly remind him that he wasn't a cop and I said nothing. You knew that he was the mayor's best friend, poker buddies with the commissioner, my Captain, and half the judges in the city, yet chose to repeatedly harass him. The type of people that can have us writing parking tickets... if they decide to let us stay on the force. I should have warned you, but I didn't and now it looks like we'll both pay the price."
Tom listened to everything that she said. He knew that he shouldn't have ragged on Castle the way he did, but he was jealous. He wanted to be her partner, both professionally and in private and saw Rick as nothing more than a roadblock to achieving that goal. He knew that Castle had powerful friends, but let his ego write checks that could cost him his career. The fact that Montgomery had witnessed most of it and said nothing gave him a false sense of security. That the boss knew and approved.
"What are you saying? The Captain already suspended us for three days. Do you know something I don't?" Tom inquires, worried that this wasn't the end of it.
"I've never seen him look so defeated. Not only did Castle resign, but Roz got a transfer to the One Seven. She told him that she couldn't work here anymore. If she told him why he didn't say, but I suspect that the Captain thinks it was because of the way we treated Castle. I have a bad feeling that this is only the beginning of my troubles..." Kate sighs, knowing that she was correct.
"I say screw it. If there's nothing we can do to change the outcome, we might as well enjoy ourselves." Tom replies, hoping that he can convince Kate to change her mind, for at least one more night.
She listened to him and understood the logic. They might as well enjoy their last time together as their fate was out of their hands. Kate sighs and offers a sad smile before commenting. "What the hell, I haven't been dancing in a long time. Care to join me?"
X-X-X-X
Rick smiled as he watched Jennifer attack her dinner as if she was on a mission. It was such a refreshing change from the woman he dated in the past who acted as if they were afraid of food. Even Beckett had to practically be forced to eat and when she did, it never appeared that she got any pleasure from it. With the exception being the strawberry milkshakes and French fries from Remy's.
Rick quietly ate his dinner chastising himself for dwelling on a woman that he clearly did not meet her standards while sitting with a beautiful blonde who seemed to genuinely like him. They had made small talk about life in New York and the places they visited today before their food was served. He truly enjoyed talking to her and didn't feel the need to pretend to be anyone but himself.
Jennifer catches him trying to sneak not so surreptitious looks her way as he enjoyed his meal and asks. "What? I figured at what this meal costs, I was going to enjoy every bite."
The serious look on her face as she breaks open the lobster claw only results in his smile becoming wider as he returns to the steak before him. He knew that he wasn't ready to enter any type of relationship right now, but another part of his brain told him. 'Give her a chance to prove that she's not like the others before giving up. Who knows, maybe she's everything that you had hoped that Beckett would be...'
It was sometime during their wait for an after dinner drink that Jennifer began to ask about his future plans now that he had decided to leave the NYPD. Rick honestly replied that he had no idea and that one of his original reasons for his trip to Tahoe was to have some time alone to gather his thoughts.
Jennifer made no attempt to mask her disappointment at his remark and started to apologize for forcing herself on him the way she did. Rick would not let her finish and reminded her that he invited her to come with him. He then went on to say that he was glad that he did which seemed to make her happy as he was telling the truth.
"You know that Roz is going to be my new partner... maybe you'd like to join us?" Jennifer blurts out before she lost her courage.
To say he was stunned by her offer would be an understatement and now began to wonder if this whole thing was nothing more than an attempt to secure his services. The smile fades and he replies. "The reasons why I left the twelfth haven't changed. I'm not a cop and if you believe the people I worked with, not much of a help solving cases. No, it's time I stopped pretending to be something that I'm not."
Jennifer could tell by the defeated tone of his voice and the way that the sparkle in his eye disappeared, that she had really screwed up. 'Idiot! You're having dinner with the nicest, richest, most famous man that you've ever met and you turn it into a job interview. He probably thinks that the only reason that you're here was about the job... you know you would.'
She reaches across the table trying to take hold of his hands. Jennifer fights back a sob at his flinch when she makes contact. "Rick! I'm so sorry. I was afraid that after this weekend, I'd never see you again and I panicked. I wanted to be a part of your life any way that I could, even if we were just coworkers. Can you forgive me?"
He can see her eyes shiny from the tears she was fighting back, the sincerity in her voice as she spoke and relaxed just a little. It had been a long time since a woman apologized to him for anything and it was a strange feeling to him. She was still holding his hand, her eyes searching for a sign of forgiveness from him.
"So there's no job offer?" Rick inquires with a small smile to let her know she is forgiven.
Her smile seemed to light up the dark room as she leans across the table to give him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Of course there is, but if I have to choose between dating Richard Castle or having him as a coworker, sorry babe, the offer's withdrawn."
"Let's see if we survive our first date before we start talking plural." Rick replies with a smile that seemed to make all of the tension present moments earlier evaporate. "And who said that you had to choose?"
Jennifer leans across the table and this time kisses him on the lips which results in both of them smiling. She leans even further, her lips nearly touching his ear and whispers. "I'd ask you to take me to your room, but I know you aren't ready..."
She slides back into her seat, giving him a sultry smile just as the waiter dropped off their drinks. They sat there talking about nothing in particular as they enjoyed their brandies. After paying the check, Rick takes her by the hand and asks if she'd like to go dancing at the club less than fifty feet from where they were standing. Rising on her toes, she kisses him and loops her arm through his as they walk to the club.