A/N: I borrowed some dialogue. Things are starting to wrap up. I hope you enjoy it and that it's not too confusing. I tried to tie up some of the loose ends. Please review and let me know if you could follow along: Disclaimer: They aren't mine, I just like to play in their sandbox...
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They followed the orderly through the hospital corridors until they arrived at their room. The rain had increased to a steady downpour and the winds were causing the tree branches to bang against the window. And though it was still the early afternoon, the sky was dark, the storm clouds masking the sun.
As Dr. Adderley had promised, there were two beds, parallel to each other with a small end table in between them. The privacy curtains around each bed were drawn open. Castle walked over to bed closest to the window and sat with a bounce. Kate sat across from him, hands under her thighs.
"What do you want to do, Kate?" Castle began. So far they were still alone. The police had yet to show up.
"I know you want to talk this through, but I just need some time. Can you give me that?"
Looking slightly dejected, Castle leaned back in his bed. Realizing her mistake and how it must have sounded to him, she sighed and rose to cross to his bed.
"Scooch," she instructed and then proceeded to drape herself against his side.
"Rick, just because I need time to think things through, doesn't mean I want to do it alone, not anymore. Can you just hold me, please?"
He could never deny her and brought his arm across her shoulder cosseting her into his side.
"I'm trying to be better," she started.
"Kate, you don't have to be better," he protested. But he was wrong. She did need to be better. "Let me finish, please." He nodded his consent and she continued, struggling to put her jumbled thoughts into some semblance of order.
"A part of me, the old me, wants to charge at this full force, to avenge the death of my team. But I know I can't do that any longer. There's so much more to lose now. I need to come to terms with all you told me and find a way to accept my role in this mess, the fact that it can't be me to finish this. I started it, but I can't finish it. It's gonna take me some time to reconcile that."
"It's not your fault," he repeated his earlier statement. But it was, and she knew it. "Bracken and whoever is behind this LokSat, started this in their greedy pursuit for power." He was adamant in her defense.
But hadn't she been just as selfish when she'd initiated the run on Bracken? She'd never once stopped to think about the possible consequences. She'd already known the who and the why, but it hadn't been enough. She'd need to see him punished, she'd needed to see it through to the end. And, as a result of that single minded obsession, six people were dead.
"Let's agree to disagree."
"Deal, if you agree not to push me away. I need to trust that whatever you decide to do, we do it together. No going off on some martyr crusade. No leaving me behind because you want to protect me." It was uncanny the way he knew her. All those thoughts had already run through her head.
"Okay," she sighed, rubbing her nose into his chest, inhaling that scent that was distinctly him. It grounded her, reminded her that he was her home.
"I'm so tired, Castle." He didn't think she was referring solely to her physical state. He knew what this was costing her mentally and it had to be exhausting.
"I know the police need a statement. But could you maybe go see if we can do it tomorrow. We can go to the station after we're discharged," she suggested.
"Sure, Kate. Close your eyes and rest. I'll take care of everything."
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When she woke the next morning, it was to her husband standing over her with a dopey smile on his face.
"Were you watching me sleep?" she rasped.
"Is it creepy?"
Her throat was so dry. Castle noticed and handed her the cup of water on the small table. "Thanks," she said taking a sip. "No, I think it's kind of sweet."
"Good, because I took some pictures," he smiled pocketing his cell phone. "They're part of a series. But you usually don't wake up," he mused with a dreamy expression. Sleepy Kate was one of his favorites. She looked so young and carefree.
She choked on the water. "And now we're back to creepy."
He looked chagrined as he sat next to her on the bed.
"How are my two favorite people feeling this morning?" he asked placing his hands on her stomach.
"We're fine," she assured placing her own over his.
"And you? How's your head?"
"I've got a bit of headache, nothing a couple of Advil won't cure."
"Good," she said brushing the hair that had flopped across his forehead back, rubbing his temples lightly. He closed his eyes and hummed in approval.
"Listen, Kate, I was thinking,"
"Oh, no," she joked. He gave her one of her famous eye rolls.
"Once we're discharged this morning, and we give our statements to the cops, I think we need to go home and regroup. I know you had your heart set on traveling, but I think we need to lay low for a while."
"Castle, so long as I'm with you, I'll go anywhere."
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Shortly before noon, the doctor came by and gave them the all clear to be discharged. They said their goodbyes to the staff thanking them and Castle promised to send them all an autographed copy of the latest Nikki Heat in gratitude.
They decided to go by the hotel first to pick up their belongings before making their way to the police station, that way they could head straight to the airport from there.
The police tape had been removed and the room righted to its original state. Their clothes and belongings were neatly folded and laid out on the bed.
"Looks like Ben runs a tight ship. You'd never know something had gone down here," Castle observed.
There was a knock on the door and Castle peeped through the Judas hole to see who it was. "Speak of the devil."
Ben Kerzner strode into the room. He nodded in greeting to both of them before speaking. "I'm sorry for interrupting you but I was hoping to speak with Katie for a few minutes."
"Ok, go ahead. We're all ears." Castle came up to Kate wrapping his arm protectively around her. He was pleasantly surprised when Kate didn't immediately shrug him off.
"Alone, Mr. Castle."
"I don't think that's a good idea. Kate?"
"It's fine, Castle," she placated, patting him on the chest.
"Ok, but I'm waiting right outside the door. Yell, if he tries anything." Castle said on his way out the door, and did just what he said he do. He slid down the wall and waited.
Ben looked around the room assessing the job his staff had done at cleaning up. Satisfied he turned back to Kate who was watching him with a curious expression.
"What did you want to talk to me about, Ben? Castle and I are due at the police station to give our statements before we head to the airport. We're on a tight schedule." She tried to hurry him along, having no desire to talk with him on anything personal given his recent encounter with her husband. Peeved that her leg was starting to throb, she made her way to the couch and sat down.
"May I?" he asked, signaling to the space next to her. She nodded her approval thinking it wasn't going to be a quick conversation if he was sitting down. Kerzner took his place and turned to face her.
"19 years ago you said good bye to me at the airport with a kiss to the cheek and a promise to stay in touch," Kerzner began. "You know what I thought when I saw you walk through that gate without a backwards glance?" He didn't wait for her to respond. "'There goes Katie Beckett with my heart in her hands and she doesn't even realize it'. I was right and you never came back."
"Yeah, well things happened and I wasn't in the right head space for a long time. But, Ben, I'm sorry if I led you on. I never realized you wanted more from us, I thought you understood we were just friends." She was getting a little uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. If he thought there was any chance for them he had another thing coming.
"I'm aware of everything that happened to you, now. But, back then when you didn't call those first weeks, I rationalized you were busy catching up with your high school mates. But when the semester started and you still hadn't called or even come back, I knew it had all been a foolish dream on my part. I needed to wake up. My father was right, I'd had my head in the clouds and I needed to grow up and take my place in the family business. So I changed my major from environmental sciences to business, and when I graduated I packed my bags and came to the Island to run the flagship hotel with my father." He stood now made his way to stare out the window. And with his back to her he continued. She had no idea where he was going with this.
"My father had a dream to create the top of the line all-inclusive resorts. He wanted the Kerzner name to be synonymous with the hotel elites. Hotels aren't cheap to build, you know, and with a flagging economy, the banks were hesitant to provide additional loans. So he had to come up with some creative financing techniques to keep his projects afloat. I won't bore you with all the details. But let's just say some very important and influential people suddenly took a vested interest in the hotel industry, and thus the Kerzner Empire was born." He turned away from the window and took his seat once again.
"Money laundering."
"A point to the young lady, you were always too clever for your own good, Katie. Yes, our business partner had his fingers in all the New York drug trade, from the Cardanos in Brooklyn to Vulcan Simmons in Washington Heights. I don't know what he had on them, but they all reported to him. Problem was he needed a way to legitimize his cash flow, and in comes my father with the perfect venture."
"Why are you telling me this?" Nothing good could come out of this conversation if was telling her these things. She regretted letting Castle leave.
"And not very patient, if I recall," he chuckled. "As I was saying, I came back home and learned the business and when my father passed, it was a seamless transition of power, in every sense. The business was running smoothly and our hotel chain had an endless supply of collateral for expansion, life was good. So imagine my surprise when I turned on CNN one day to see you carting Senator William Bracken off to jail. The woman who I had pined for was in the process of single handedly destroying everything I had built. With Bracken gone, I thought that was the end of things."
"Can't say I'm sorry. That bastard murdered my mother and tried to have me killed," she snarled absently rubbing the scar on her chest. "But, Ben, you could have used that opportunity to legitimize the operation. You could have walked away and followed your own ambitions. You still can."
"I thought about it, but then someone contacted me, said things would proceed as usual and the cash flow continued. It was too good of a thing to give up. Virtually risk free."
"LokSat?"
"I suppose I've heard them refer to themselves by that name."
"Who are they?"
"I don't know."
"Oh, come on, Ben. You work for them."
"True. But, I never met them. In fact, I'd insisted that our next meeting be face to face, gentlemen to gentlemen. I don't like this cold war spy craft business, burner phones and code names. I like to look into the eyes of those I do business with, I like to know who I'm getting into bed with, as you Americans like to say. But the meeting never materialized."
"Why? What happened," she couldn't help but ask. She could feel herself being sucked in.
"You happened."
"Me? I don't understand?"
"I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, Katie. I wanted to believe that it was a coincidence you'd showed up at my hotel. So I gave you the perfect excuse to leave the resort. I was sure Rick would have packed up your bags and carted you out of here after our conversation," he smirked.
"You mean that nonsense about a ménage a trois? I knew that wasn't like you."
"Yes, not my most creative ploy, but I gave it a shot, for old time sakes. But you stayed and LokSat tracked you to my hotel, and coincidence or not, you could see how that would look to them."
She should have listened to Rick when he'd returned from his meeting with Ben. He'd wanted to leave, she was the one who'd insisted they stay and enjoy their last couple of days. She'd thought he was being overly dramatic.
"Flynn was sent to question you and then you were going to be dealt with once and for all. How you managed to get out of that particular situation, I'll never know."
"Castle."
"Ah yes, he's your plucky side kick."
"He's my partner." She felt the need to defend him. "And Flynn, he knows the truth about the extent of our involvement. LokSat must know it too."
"Katie," he tisked at her. "Just because you weren't actually pursuing this, doesn't mean you weren't involved."
"I don't understand."
"Oh, come now, Katie, think. You still believe it was just a coincidence that you ended up at my resort, the same week this meeting was supposed to take place? That it was a coincidence that a search, you initiated, over a year ago, suddenly came back with results? And Vikram, it was your team who alerted the FEDS, Kate, you put them on the scent."
"I..I..Yes?" she stated suddenly unsure herself. Was it truly a coincidence or were they once again pawns in someone's chess came.
"Regardless, of what you choose to believe, Katie, you're into this neck deep and it's a fight you can't win."
"I don't want a fight," she reaffirmed, she couldn't sit any longer and stood to pace. "Tell them that. I'm done with all of this. I'll resign. I'll turn in my badge." She was close to begging.
"I'm afraid they aren't willing to take that chance." Ben followed her up off the couch.
"So, what, they sent you to kill me?" she demanded whirling to face him. She gaged the distance to the door. She'd never make it.
"No, I don't do their dirty work."
"Why are you here then?"
"To warn you."
"Why?"
"The why isn't important, not anymore. They're coming. I was to inform them upon your arrival. Just listen to me when I tell you straight out that you need to disappear, today, right now. Take the keys to my boat, it's in the marina slip 47," he urged, placing the keys into her palm and squeezing it shut. "The coordinates have been programmed. Follow those to your rendezvous point. Someone will meet you there to take you to your choice of destination."
She didn't know why Ben was doing what he was doing, but she wasn't going to question it, not when their lives depended on it.
"Ben, thank you," she reached up on her toes and planted a soft kiss to his cheek and then proceeded to walk out the door. It was the second time she had walked away from him without a backwards glance.
"Castle," she called exiting the room.
"You ok?" he asked coming off the floor.
"I'm fine but we got to go, now."
"What? Why? What about our stuff?"
"Leave it, you're rich you can buy us new stuff. We gotta hurry." She exclaimed dragging him by the hand to the elevator.
"Where are we going?" He pulled back temporarily halting their progress.
"On a boat ride. I'll explain on the way. And Castle you better contact Tim and Darren, we're going to need their help."
A boat ride, in this weather?