My Next Broken Heart
by Castlefan6
Authors Note: This is Totally AU; Beckett and Castle have moved past her MIA time, and are working toward a relationship. Ryan's Wedding is an opportune time to display their progress, Or is it? NOTE Dates have been adjusted to make this story possible. This story is full of angst, some chapters will be rough, you've been warned.
Taking Literary License to fill in the blanks.
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.
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Chapter 2
NYPD
12th Precinct
Conference Room
FLASHBACK TO THE PREVIOUS DAY
Kate was in shock, as she watched Rick, quietly pull his hand from her, leave the conference room, his words still ringing in her ears.
"Is that what YOU want, Kate," Rick asked more seriously than at any time she had ever seen him before. "Do you want us to stop being partners? If you do, just say the word, I'll walk out that door and not come back."
He sat there looking into her emerald green eyes, now filled with tears, not crying yet, but on the verge. He was hoping that she would say no that she doesn't ever want him to leave her side. It seemed as minutes passed with Kate standing over the table and Rick sitting in front of her.
"No," she mumbled, "it's not what I want, you have to know that, Rick."
"Then what is it, Kate? What's the problem?" Rick pleaded, taking her hand between his,
"Time, Rick, I need time," she told him looking down at their joined hands. "I want this to work; you have no idea how much. But nothing has changed from our talk on the swings, I have to be able to put more into a relationship than I can now. I can't put one hundred percent into any relationship until I know what happened to my mother."
"Can you answer one question for me Kate, I mean truthfully?" his blue eyes were almost black now,
"If I can Rick, I promise I haven't lied to you, I swear" her tears fell now,
"I wish I could believe you, Kate, I really do," Rick said, his eyes filling with moisture
"Ask me, Rick, please," she pleaded,
"How much longer were you going to lie to me about not hearing me when you were shot?" Rick asked, as Kate's face flushed, and her tears fell, he knew his guess was right,
"Rick, please, it's not what you think, I mean, I"
"I understand," he replied sadness dripping from his voice as he withdrew his hand from her grasp. He knew what he had to do now. The wedding was less than one week away, now he knew a lot more was at stake than just a wedding guest to accompany him, Kate had some explaining to do, from her heart."
He got up from the chair and walked past her not daring to look her in the eye. He had other plans but knew looking into the eyes of the exquisite detective would ruin him, he would cave again like he always did.
"Rick, you don't have to leave," Kate begged as she grabbed his arm before he left the interrogation room. "I want you to stay." She pleaded once again,
"I know, you said that already," he said with half a smile, "but I upset you, by pressing. I think it's a good idea if we just take a break today. I'll be back tomorrow, detective, maybe by then you can give me the truthful answer to my question about your lie.
"I have a meeting with Gina today. She's wanted a timeline for the remainder of the HEAT series, I at least owe her that. I've been avoiding her, it's time to meet with her and give her the truth she's asking for. "
Before Kate could say another word, Rick stood and broke the hold, she had on him and left the interrogation room. She couldn't believe what had just happened. He knew she had been lying, all this time, he knew and kept on being there for her day in and day out.
She knew she had to tell him why, she was sure he was done with lies, if she wanted him in her life, she had to be prepared, to tell the truth, the whole truth. She sat there in shock, long after even the smell of his aftershave had vacillated out of sensory range.
PRESENT TIME
A few minutes later Esposito and Ryan walked into the 12th precinct from the canvassing they were tasked to do at the crime scene. They had barely arrived when Kate went on the offense. She knew if she didn't keep them on track about the case, the questions would turn to Rick, IF she couldn't answer his questions, how could she answer theirs?
"What did you guys find," Beckett asked standing up from her desk, giving them the eye roll.
"Where's Castle, he is going to love this," Ryan asked, looking around for his unstated idol, he was probably closer to Rick than anyone else at the precinct.
"He's not here, you know he doesn't work here, don't you? He had things to take care of today," Beckett replied, suddenly feeling jealous that he, her partner was going to be spending some time with ex-wife number two.
"What happened between you two now?" Esposito questioned, looking at Kate's face and knowing that Castle would never just up and disappear on them, not without cause.
"Nothing happened between us. Guys, let's just get on with the case, he does have his full-time job Javi, he's in a meeting at Black Pawn" Beckett ordered in a tone that only confirmed something had indeed happened to cause Rick to leave.
"First, I know why Ms. Clarring was so happy about her relationship with the victim lately," Ryan explained, he paused but one look at Beckett's face told him to finish what he was going to say, "She's pregnant." He was smiling until he caught the glare from Beckett.
"Ryan, how do you know, don't tell me you're the father this close to your wedding, " Beckett asked, still not smiling. Her statement had the effect on the young Irishman she desired, he became all flushed and flustered,
"Kate, no, hell no, I never saw the woman before today. How can you ask me something like that?" he asked, his shyness and frustration clearly on display,
"OK, then did you do an internal exam? How do you know she's pregnant, that's something women cherish, and hold the news close to their hearts? How did you two find out this information?" she asked, not in the best of moods, a woman's most cherished times could have been violated.
"We found prenatal vitamins, and a book on what to do when you become pregnant on her dresser along with an ultrasound picture on her dresser, Before you ask, we checked the date stamp, and confirmed that it was dated last week," Ryan stated, a little confused on why Beckett would come unglued about pregnancy news of a stranger.
"She never mentioned that she was pregnant to me, did she say or hint about it when you two talked to her? How did she react when you discovered the vitamins and ultrasound picture?" Beckett asked, still very upset about the pregnancy,
"She seemed sad, but not surprised, I mean she can't hide that secret forever Beckett, you know that. Maybe she didn't mention it because the victim isn't her baby daddy," Esposito pointed out. "Maybe when the Vic found out he knew it too, and it somehow got him killed." He seemed proud of his deduction until he heard Beckett's reply,
"Oh my God, you're starting to sound like Castle," Beckett spit out, still visibly shaken up by something,
"Beckett, think about how many cases we solved because of Castle, so is that such a bad thing? Even you, by the book, straight lace cop have to admit that his wild theories sometimes end up being closer to the truth than any of us would have imagined." Ryan defended his partner and Castle.
"Maybe so Kevin, but one Castle is all I can handle right now," Beckett murmured. The boys turned to look at each other, there was definitely something wrong in paradise. They observed Kate noting the information on the murder board, she was exerting much more force on the poor marker than was needed. "OK, other than playing doctor for a few minutes what else did two highly trained NYPD Detectives find?" She asked, her mood still just as sour as it was a few moments previously.
Kevin looked at Esposito as to say, you take this one, I just got my ass chewed, it's your turn.
"We paid a visit to the home address listed on the victim's ID; it was a nice apartment BUT crowded when you have three grown-ass men living there. I'm sure it got awkward for the victim at times since two of the men, were partners in more than a general sense if you get what I mean." Esposito said,
"Yeah, Esposito, get with the times, LGBT is out in the open now, they have the same rights as every citizen in New York, so watch yourself when you describe them. We won't tolerate slurs or any type of prejudice from civil servants, is that clear? He nodded his head, and she continued, "that could explain why he spent as much time with Miss Clarring as he did, and possibly why she was still waiting for the big question as Castle put it." Kate added.
"What else did you find out? She drilled,
"The brother, the high-class attorney that you enamored so much has only been a lawyer a short while. He worked his way through college working as the maître d' at Top of The Town Restaurant, the five-star place where it costs a week of our salary for a bowl of soup. That's where he met our victim, who wasn't involved in law at all.
"He was a struggling actor, starving would be more accurate, he hadn't had a gig in the last six months, perhaps another reason to crash at Miss Clarring's pad. The brother was truthful when he said they worked together, except it wasn't at the law firm, Mr. Craig was a line cook at the restaurant. He had been working there for the last 3 years, and this was the first time in about a year and a half he didn't show up for a shift," Ryan said looking down at his notepad.
"We requested his financials but they haven't arrived yet, not that I hold much hope they will help us any. They should be here in the morning," Esposito said softly,
"I am going to see what Lanie has found out about our victim if anything," Beckett declared grabbing her jacket off the back of her chair. "Why don't you guys head out to lunch if you want to", as she glanced at her watch showing it was well past the noon hour.
"Sure, thing Beckett, do you want us to pick you up something," Ryan asked as he watched their boss walk towards the elevator.
"No, thanks anyway guys, I'm not really hungry," Beckett responded shrugging her shoulders.
As the elevator closed obstructing their view of Detective Kate Beckett inside, the two detectives looked at each other realizing something fishy was going on.
"What the hell did Castle do now, did you hear anything from Lanie?" Ryan asked, clearly upset about his friend, boss, almost another sister, Beckett.
"You heard what I and the entire bullpen heard. All he did, at least in front of us, was to ask Beckett to be his date to your wedding, bro. I have no freaking idea of why she's acting like this, I mean yes, no, or go to hell, her three choices, not bite our heads off for telling her what we found on our investigation." Javi added, his irritation beginning to show,
Even if that is it, and I'm not saying it is, I can see she isn't taking it so well, but Why? I still think something is going to happen at the wedding," Ryan smiled, "I'm going to win that bet for sure."
"Don't forget Bro, we DIDN'T bet, and when it comes to them, I wouldn't count on it, hell not anything now when it comes to Castle and Beckett."
XxX
Castle's Loft
45 Minutes Later
Rick knew that there was a hell of a lot more at stake now than just a wedding date, it could mean the end of their relationship, wait, what relationship, their arrangement was more accurate. He walked into his loft in the Lower West Side knowing what he had to do, or at least he thought he did. The first task was to let Gina know of his timeline, it was true, she had been asking repeatedly what he was going to do.
He powered up his computer, and brought up the Excel file labeled Heat Timeline, made a few revisions to it, then saved his work and attached the file to an email to Gina. He was weeks away from the launch of his fourth Heat novel, and with the two manuscripts that were over 80% complete, decided that this would be the end. His current contract ended with the current book about to be released, Gina had offered him just about anything he wanted for one more book to wrap things up.
He thought one novel to close out the professional, then one to bring every open personal issue Rook and Heat had to an end, that would satisfy not only Gina but the readers as well. He had to make minor revisions to the script, he still hadn't decided the ending of the couple, secretly hoping it could mirror a happy one for him and the detective. Based on the conversation he had just left, the confirmation of a lie, that wasn't looking promising so he made some possible ending scenarios and closed the file.
Ryan was getting married in less than a week, not a great deal of time to pull off the miracle it appeared he would need for a happy ending to him and Beckett. He knew what he had to do, as much as it made him want to lose his lunch, he searched through his confidential folder and found the phone number he had grudgingly kept last year in Paris. Now, all he had to worry about was that it was still in service, if not he didn't have plan B. He dialed and held his breath,
"Hello," the man answered after several rings, it sounded as if the call had been transferred more than once between cell phone providers,
"OK Hunt, you win, this is Rick Castle, and I need your help to end this charade," he stated.
"I know who you are Son, why so formal, I thought we had developed a better relationship after Paris?" Came the voice over the phone, not gloating, just ebbing with confidence,
"What. You thought one day in Paris made up for 35 years of my life with you, not in it? Not hardly, so let's stick to business, shall we? You told me you could bring this to an end anytime, and I quote, "I swallowed my pride and asked for your help. OK, I'm asking for your help" Rick got out, leaving a bitter taste of bile on his tongue just saying the words.
"It was an intense ONE day, even you have to admit that. I thought that I had proved to you, my world and yours don't and will never mix. That doesn't mean that I don't love my family. I thought we had settled this then? What's happened to cause such a drastic change of heart Richard?"
"Something has come up and I need to meet with you, besides what does it matter. You said it was under control, you knew the parties and could pull the plug anytime that you thought was the right time, was that a line of bullshit?" Rick hated being on the call but now he was being forced to explain his ask.
"Richard, Richard, Richard, I know your mother raised you better, you should know better than to accuse someone, especially your father of lying. That would be your Detective, son, not your dear old dad." Hunt replied as calmly as if he were reading the newspaper.
"What the hell are you talking about? If you mean about her claiming not to have heard my profession of love, I've already talked to her about that." Rick bluffed,
"Have you? Or did you just inform her that you weren't falling for THAT lie again, it's not the first lie she's told you, and with her track record sadly won't be the last." Hunt said, in the same calm tone.
"What the hell do you mean by that, you have no idea of what's gone on in my life" Rick barked back,
"You need to face facts, get your head out of that make-believe world you create for your novels, Richard. Demming, Josh, Royce, how many men do you need to prove to you she's just not that into you son, not every woman in the world is going to fall for that manufactured persona your publisher has turned out." Hunt still in the same calm voice,
Rick was quiet, he couldn't argue that she had lied to him, about stupid stuff that she had no reason to do so. If she had been so into Tom Demming all she had to say was "I have a boyfriend Castle, maybe if or when I'm free, not that she had used her vacation days", and let the Robbery Detective cause the heartbreak he did, even if he were innocent in that act. Hell, she wasn't the first woman to reject him.
"OK, I see I hit a nerve Richard, what you do with the detective is your business, BUT how we handle this is mine. It goes my way or we don't do it at all, is that clear?" Hunt showed some anger in his voice this time.
"What do you mean by your way, Hunt? I'm on a timeline here" Rick fired back,
"Look, I don't give a rat's ass about you being the hero and solving Mother Beckett's murder in time for your upcoming attendance at a wedding. She hasn't even said she would go with you yet, or given you a reason why she lied to you about not hearing you, hell New Jersey heard you scream you loved her Richard." Hunt fired back,
"How did you"
"First stop asking so many questions, next call this number, it's someone that knows you and Beckett both. She's also someone I trust to carry out what is needed to be done before we swoop in like in the cowboy movies you used to love so much.
"This isn't the old west, it isn't a movie, and I don't care what Mr. Dillion says. You want the murder solved, it's my way, or you can keep hitting walls, your choice." Hunt said, as Rick's phone pinged with a text, it was a phone number, nothing else.
"Wh"
"Richard, that's a question, wait 45 minutes and call the number I just texted you. Just in case you get any ideas of trying to trace the phone I sent it from, it's a burner, one-time use throw away, so save your effort.
"Do as you're told, and you might just convince your detective you're her one and done yet. Don't get your hopes up Son, she's a heartbreaker and from here you're working on your next broken heart." Hunt said in a comforting, yet warning tone.
"Where are you going to be when this is happening, how do I get in touch with you?" Rick asked,
"The number I gave you in Paris, the one you used worked after over a year, didn't it? Don't overuse it, or you'll be sent to a clearinghouse. Use the number and contact information I just sent you going forward, is that clear?" Hunt warned,
"It's clear, thanks Hunt," Rick said softly,
"No need for thanks yet, the job isn't done, time for that soon enough, or for you to prove me to be nothing but a bag of wind, with no concern for my family at all. Keep your mouth shut, to everyone, especially your Mother. She's going to push you hard, so get your poker face on now." Hunt said, he might be a liar, but he did know Martha, all too well.
"Thanks anyway," he said,
"We've been on this line too long already I'll be in touch" click was the only sound Rick heard after that.
He gathered himself, poured his three fingers of the top shelf single malt liquor, and noted the time, Hunt had said 45 minutes, he still had 38 minutes left to wait. It was good that Martha and Alexis both were out shopping for their upcoming private concert courtesy of Mr. Abraham Sachs and his grandson.
Finally, what seemed like an eternity later, the time had arrived for him to call the contact Hunt had provided. He finished his drink, tried to collect himself, and dialed the number,
It rang once, twice, three times then he heard a woman's voice say,
"Hello Rick, I see you're following your Dad's orders to a tee, that's a good start," she said, Rick strained his ears, the voice was familiar, but who, no, it couldn't be,
He cleared his voice and asked,
TBC