Truth

Chapter 1

"Roy Montgomery taught me what it meant to be a cop. Taught me that we are bound by our choices. But we are more than out mistakes. Captain Montgomery once told me that for us there is no victory. There are only battles. And in the end the best you can hope for is to find a place to make your stand. And if you're very lucky, you find someone willing to stand with you." Kate took a nice long look at Castle.

She was trying to talk to him. They never talked and she knew that. She was trying so hard to be ready and able to actually talk to him. To tell him what her heart was trying so hard to tell her. But she wasn't ready to listen to that part of her.

Dr. Burke had once asked her if she was afraid that he wouldn't wait for her or if she was afraid that he would. She didn't yet have an answer for that.

To Kate it felt like suddenly there was a stabbing pain that hurt so very badly and Castle was on top of her. He was saying something. "Kate, I love you. I love you, Kate."

Those were the words that she had been praying to hear from him for weeks if not months. But there was so much pain. She couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. She wanted to see him to understand why he had said that. They didn't talk.

###V##][##V###

She had told him she would call. There was still a lot of pain and she was having trouble figuring out just what was real and what her mind was making up.

Then her dad told her what Josh had done. Oh, she was very, very angry. That this asshole had actually tried to pick a fight with Castle over what she had done. Castle didn't have anything to do with this. NOTHING!

Kate had sent Josh packing and that if he ever showed up at her door again she would have a restraining order put out against him then immediately arrest him and lock him up. She had even reminded him that she had friends that would hide his dead, pathetic, useless body and if it ever was found she had an ME that would lose him all over again.

###V##][##V###

"Katie?" Jim hated this plan. "Just call him, Katie. You're not hurting anyone but yourself and it needs to stop."

Kate knew he meant Castle but she still wasn't ready for him. Especially not like this. She had a hole in her chest and for the doctors to reach her heart she had this nice long line down the side of her body filled with stitches. Both were incredibly ugly.

"I'm fine, Dad and I don't need you hovering over me. I know what to do and I have food, my phone, and my back-up weapon. You can come back in a week to clean if it pleases you."

Jim sighed since she was being far too stubborn for her own good. He knew getting her to admit that she loved Rick would only send her in the opposite direction. So he only had one choice. Leave and come back in a few days – he didn't mean a week – to check on her.

###V##][##V###

Kate had gone to sleep on the sofa. It hurt too much to get up and go to bed. It took enough of her strength to even take her medication. She would change her dressings when she got up again. It could wait.

###V##][##V###

Kate didn't know why she was awake but she was. Worse she saw someone and it wasn't her dad. "Castle?" God but she wanted it to be him. His not being here was hurting her in ways she couldn't understand.

"Good-bye, Detective," was what he'd said. She remembered that now. It wasn't Castle and she had her weapon on the sofa. She had somehow managed to actually almost sit on it. She raised her weapon and shot him. She remembered that part. She thought. It was all so fuzzy and didn't make any sense to her.

###V##][##V###

"Dad?" She saw him. She had sent him home. But she had called him too. He was kneeling over a body on the floor. "Castle!" Oh God! She had shot Castle! He had shown up because he never actually went away. He always came back and she wanted, needed him to come back. But she wasn't going to call him. Not looking like this. Not feeling like this.

"It's not Castle, Katie. It's someone else." Jim also found a weapon that wasn't hers really close to him. Jim wasn't stupid he could put 2 + 2 together and get hired killer. The sniper hadn't finished the job so someone had tracked her down and came out here to finish the job. If Katie hadn't called him he would have been out here for a few more days. Maybe too long.

Jim didn't need her phone, he had his number so he called it.

"Jim, how's Kate?" That was all he cared about. He wasn't going to intrude into his or Kate's life. She had said she would call so he was going to give her the space she needed. The space she had asked for.

"Where are you, son?" Jim asked him instead of answering his question.

"Home." That was an interesting question.

"Good, write this down. I'll wait." Jim told him the address to the cabin and tried to describe what he was going to see as landmarks along the way since GPS for this place wasn't all that helpful.

Then he proceeded to tell Rick what he had found. "Katie needs to be somewhere else, son. Anywhere but here. If they can shoot her at a funeral filled with police then chase her down out here, she needs to be somewhere else."

###V##][##V###

Rick had made more calls than he had in a long time. He had also called in a few favors and that was after he'd gone out and bought five burner phones using cold hard cash.

He had met Kevin, Javi, and Lanie in a place that was nearly impossible for anyone to overhear them. The train noises would drown out anything they had to say.

"SHIT!" Kevin wasn't pleased by the news. Javi had begun cursing up a storm in Spanish until Lanie snapped at him to stop.

"Thanks for coming. I have a plan but I need your help. Feel free to say no," Rick began.

Javi cut him off. "Just tell us what you need, Castle."

Castle proceeded to explain everything he wanted from them. It was going to take him and them all day to accomplish everything but he couldn't help that. The longest of which was going to a friend, getting the keys, and finding out what he had to work with.

###V##][##V###

Javi showed up right on time after getting off the train. "I wasn't followed." He had made sure of it.

"Here are the keys. It's the old Jeep 4x4 just around the corner. Drive it to where we agreed and leave it there. I have things I need to get first. I'll meet you all there on time so don't be late," Rick cautioned.

"If I'm late it's because I'm dead," Javi replied grimly and took the keys as Rick hopped onto the next train.

Javi had no trouble finding it. It was an old Jeep Cherokee. Very well used but it was also a true 4x4, he soon found, and it ran well enough.

###V##][##V###

"Alexis, Mother. I'm going to be gone for a while. Probably months." Rick knew they weren't going to like this but it was for their own good.

"Going where, Dad?" Alexis inquired.

"Someone found Kate again and tried to finish what they started at Montgomery's funeral."

Both of Martha's hands flew up and covered her mouth. "Is Katherine alright?" she asked through her hands.

"Kate somehow managed to shoot him. But she's not going to survive another attempt so I'm taking her somewhere. Somewhere they'll never find her," Rick explained.

"Don't do this, Dad. Beckett doesn't love you. All she does is hurt you." He had actually tried to jump in front of that shot and get himself killed, all because of her.

"ALEXIS! I'm not going to stand here and try and explain to you what love is all about. But I am doing this. This is a burner phone. No one knows about these phones so don't tell anyone and don't use it unless it's a real emergency. Calling me to tell me you miss me is not an emergency. It will only call just one number. Mine." Rick handed it over

"I'm not telling you where I'm going for our safety and yours, just be aware that this might be months."

"Stay safe Richard and keep Katherine safe." Martha got it even if she didn't like it.

"Dad?" She knew her dad didn't want to hear it but he needed to let Beckett go. She was going to get him killed.

"You don't have to like it, Alexis, but I'm doing this." Rick kissed her forehead and got and gave his mother a hug and left them. He had things to do first.

###V##][##V###

Rick had been driving for a while and was beginning to worry he'd missed the turn. Jim had said that it was just a mostly unmarked dirt road that had… "Found you." Heaving a sigh of relief, he made the turn.

Jim had the lights off just in case and Katie was sleeping soundly on the sofa. He had already dragged the dead guy out the back door and dumped him near the pond. Animals would likely find him first and he hadn't been up there in months if anyone asked.

He heard a car and went to look. It looked like a Mercedes to him so he met Rick at the front door.

"How is she?" Rick asked worriedly.

"Sleeping. I'm not even sure she knows just who she shot. At first she was afraid she had shot you and began to go all to pieces. Took me a long time to get her to calm down."

Jim let him in and turned on a light. Sure enough Rick saw blood and saw Kate sleeping on the sofa. He also saw a suitcase and a box.

"The suitcase is packed with all the clothes she brought with her. The box contains all the food she can eat for this week and the first aid she'll need for this week as well as all her pills until they're gone."

Rick nodded. He took the box and found room for it somehow followed by the suitcase.

"Help me get her in the car." Rick picked up the heavy end while Jim got the other. They very carefully put Kate into the front seat of his Mercedes. "Looks like you have a plan." Jim saw a lot of stuff in the back seat. So much that he stood no chance of looking out the back window.

"The trunk is full as well and this is just the start," Rick said. "This is yours." Rick handed him a burner phone. "It only has one number in its memory, mine. It's a burner phone. I paid cash and no one knows about them. If you have an emergency call it. Otherwise keep it hidden where no one will find it."

Jim took it and looked it over. It looked stupidly simple to use to him. "Just keep her safe, son. Someone's after her and it doesn't look like they're going to stop until she's dead." Jim knew full well what he was asking of him. He knew his daughter hadn't told him that she loved him so this was a huge request.

"I'm doing all I can, Jim. Once she's better we'll be in a different country if necessary. I love her even if she doesn't know it."

"I'm pretty sure she loves you too. Every time we talk all she talks about is you. It's never anyone else. I trust you, just keep her safe and don't let her send you away because she will try." Jim knew that because she had sent him away and he'd been stupid enough to listen.

"That's the plan." Rick shook his hand, got in his car, and drove away. He had to hurry if he was going to meet the others on time.

###V##][##V###

Rick was a bit late but he saw all the others and stopped next to them. Lanie wasted no time in opening the passenger door, checking a sleeping Kate over and even listening to her heart. "She's fine. So what's the plan?"

"I'm taking the Jeep with Kate in the back seat. We put the mannequins from the truck bed into the front seats of all the cars or trucks that leave here. If anyone followed you they have to decide which of us to follow and since each of us is going to have a Kate in the front seat that should give us an edge.

"Here are the burner phones." He gave one to Kevin and one to Lanie. "Each one only has one number in it. Mine. Hide them where no one will find them easily and only call if it's an emergency. Lanie, I may call you for medical help so you may want to keep yours closer to you.

"You get the food?" Rick asked.

Javi nodded. "It's all in the back of the Jeep as requested."

"I've got more in the car so please find room for it. Lanie, I need your help getting Kate into the back seat and covered up with a blanket."

###V##][##V###

"Just take good care of our girl, Castle," Lanie asked him. Demanded of him. "Someone really wants her dead."

"I'll do my best." Rick took two final items out of the Mercedes and put them on the floor of the passenger seat. "Weapon and ammunition," he explained since he was getting looks.

"Here are the keys. Use it or park it somewhere, I don't care which. Remember, everyone leaves in a different direction and you don't go home. Better yet, go back to the Precinct and stay there for a while. It won't be me calling unless it's for medical advice. The phones are for you if necessary. If I really have to I'll get her out of the country somehow." That was plan B; he wasn't there yet and hoped he never was.

Rick hugged Lanie and shook the hands of Kevin and Javi. He got in the Jeep and started it. It was then that Kate chose to wake up.

"What's going on?" Nothing looked familiar. She thought she had shot someone but she wasn't sure.

"Lay down and cover up, Kate."

"Castle?" A part of her wanted to get up and kiss him. She hadn't shot him!

"I told you to stay down and cover up," Rick almost yelled at her.

"Who's that?" There was someone in the front seat with him and it looked female. Suddenly she was jealous and was ready to tell her to get out.

"That's you. It's a mannequin. Now for the last time, stay down." Rick put his Jeep into gear and left with everyone else as they all took a different direction.

Rick did everything he could think of to make sure he wasn't being followed before he actually left the city. He still had close to 8 hours to go until they got there.

He was on Interstate 84 and had just reached a large construction zone when he decided to get off and fill the Jeep with gas. There really wasn't much there but it did have a Shell station with a mini-mart.

"Castle." Kate was awake again and remembered seeing him.

"You still need to stay down." They were in Connecticut but not far enough away to his liking.

Kate had a reason why she wanted up. "I need to pee."

Rick groaned. "Fine, give me a minute." He stopped close to the restroom doors and helped Kate into the Ladies Room.

"Castle?" God, she hated this. She couldn't even barely get her own damn pants down so she could pee. It was so embarrassing but she let Castle pull her pants down. "That's enough." She could get her own panties down, thank you very much!

She had her panties back up again and Castle had kept the door open a little by using his foot.

With her pants back up she watched as the mannequin – that didn't look anything like her save maybe for the hair – got pulled out and left sitting on the toilet while she got the front seat for a change.

Kate watched him fill it with gas and go in and come back out with Gatorade, crackers, and fruit. "Here, eat these. It'll make you feel better." Rick handed some of it to her and cracked open a Gatorade for both of them.

"No coffee?" She hadn't had coffee longer than she cared to remember; her voice sounded pitiful.

"Not yet. Your body isn't ready for coffee," Rick replied. Kate hated that answer. Still she drank some Gatorade and peeled her banana first.

"Where are we going?" Kate watched as he got back onto an Interstate and looked to be heading north.

"Maine. Someone I know has a cabin there that he barely uses. He's going to call and have the power and water turned back on for us," Rick answered as he kept checking his mirrors to make sure he didn't see a familiar car or even a truck or semi.

"Why?" She was at her dad's cabin. It should be safe and private, very private and she needed private especially now.

"What do you remember?" Rick inquired.

"I was shot. Beyond that not much. It's all a jumbled mess in my head. Mostly I remember the pain. That I was sure I had shot you." More feared she had shot him, but she wasn't ready to tell him that.

"You've been threatening to do that for a long time." Rick smiled at her but she did and said nothing. "You did, actually."

"WHAT!?" Kate turned too fast to look at him and that caused instant pain to run up her side; she cried out and grabbed her side.

"Stop, Kate! Stop! You're going to hurt yourself. It wasn't me, obviously. But you did shoot and kill someone. We think whoever shot you at Montgomery's funeral sent someone to finish the job. You somehow managed to shoot him instead then called your dad before you passed out.

"Jim found you and the dead guy then called me. I called Kevin, Javi, and Lanie to help me with you. Everyone left our meeting point with a mannequin that kind of looks like you in the front seat of each car. If anyone was watching they had to choose who to follow and so far I don't see anyone." Rick looked again and checked back as far as he could see. He had every intention to stop at each and every rest station along the way just to make sure.

"I killed someone? Who was he?" Kate questioned him.

"I don't know and I really don't care. He was there to kill you but you got him first. That's all I care about. I just care about keeping you alive until you're better."

Hearing that, Kate became silent and simply watched where they went. She ate her fruit and drank her Gatorade.

True to his word Rick stopped at each and every rest area and just watched the cars until he left again, keeping an eye who moved and where they went.

Because of this it took him 9 hours to finally reach where he wanted to go. By then Kate was asleep and leaning against the passenger door.

212-A3 Lower Bay Road

Lovell, ME 04051

Since she was asleep and fine where she was it allowed Rick to use the key and go inside. He was relieved to find the power on and the water running. They probably wouldn't have any hot water until morning, but it did mean he could load the refrigerator and unload the Jeep with everything he had brought until it was finally time to move Kate.

Rick wasn't sure this place was to Kate's liking but she and he were just going to have to live with it. Now calling this place a cabin was insulting it. It was a house of 1,630 square feet. Three bedrooms and three bathrooms. It also had two lofts meant for kids to sleep in.

It was in the middle of woods with no neighbors within sight and back far enough from the lake that they almost couldn't see the house. It did, however, have a beach, wood stove, all electric appliances, and home heating oil to provide heat to the baseboard heating but no A/C.

Once he had Kate inside he moved the Jeep into the garage and closed it.

The place was dusty and dirty and desperately needed cleaning so with Kate on the ugly-looking blue sofa, he went around opening windows to allow fresh air in. After that he began stripping the master bedroom bed, found the washer and dryer, and started a load.

After making sure she was still safe and still sleeping he went into the kitchen and looked around and put stuff away. It actually did have some canned and dry goods but not much. The refrigerator had been turned off and was left open. It was on now but it was going to take time to get cold.

While he walked around the outside to look around he found an emergency generator connected to the house. "My kind of cabin." Rick liked it save it really needed an interior decorator.

Wood floors, wood walls everywhere, wood ceilings and wood kitchen. It had some skylights to let light in but the place was almost void of any color. However, in his mind it should be safe for both of them.

As Kate slept Rick cleaned the bedroom, washed and dried bedding, and worked on a late dinner.