One Last Time

by Castlefan6

Authors Note: This is AU; Kate's mom is alive, still happily married to Jim.! The experiment of Kate and Rick living together, happily ever after is killed when she takes the Fed job only 7 months into their coupling. Only to return to New York 13 months later, BUT Rick isn't there.

I don't own Castle; I only use the characters for amusement purposes, 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. A different outcome from Watershed, at least for now. THIS WILL NOT be Caskett Ending,

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A/N: The Fan Fic Site has been nothing short of a Train Wreck the last few months. I have sent emails daily for them to fix something, something new each day. Today it came to a head, I published the chapter, answered a few reviews, then my story was gone, all of them, several emails, and hours later they restored it. I am contemplating looking for a new place to publish fan fic that is run more efficiently, and also doesn't allow a story to be published until it is complete, OR do not allow the infamous GUEST reviews. I'll keep you posted, but something has to change with the site or it will cease to exist

Drop them a note at support fanfiction. com remove the spaces I can't do anything to fix their screwups but I do thank you for letting me know.

UPDATE: THIS WILL NOT BE CASKETT ENDING, THIS WILL NOT BE CASKETT ENDING

THIS WILL NOT BE A CASKETT ENDING THIS WILL NOT BE A CASKETT ENDING THIS WILL NOT BE A CASKETT ENDING

Many GREAT reviews for both sides of the fence, BUT the one review that swayed me, as I read and reviewed them again a few hours later was one from PMT0622, Thank You All.

"There are no guarantees in life. The best Rick can do is look to the past to predict the future. If a person has lied directly to your face multiple times and never placed your needs above their wants, you can fairly accurately predict that she will do the same in the future. (How True even in real life)

Retain the fond memories and let go of the numerous bad ones to move on to someone who has never lied to you and has placed, at the minimum, your needs above her own. (This is PROFOUND ADVICE) That may or may not be Cathy but it sure seems that what Rick and she currently have is considerably above the relationship that was offered by Kate."

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Chapter 9

The Hamptons

Next Day

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Rick had managed to compose the eulogy, well at least an outline of what he wanted to say. He never read from a script, so the last page was just huge bullet points he wanted to cover during his talk. Martha had provided his life with challenges for sure, but for each challenge she brought, there was a memory of how she had fought to keep him when he was small. It was never lost on him that she took the hard road, it would have been so much easier to abort and move on with her career.

She chose to do both, a decision that cost her throughout her life beginning with being disowned by her two church-going sisters, he had only seen pictures of Mary and Margaret and had no desire to have anything to do with them now. Martha had laughed once it was discovered that her son was a NY Times Best Selling Writer, and the sisters wanted to meet. She chose to meet then and sent a lovely invitation to meet at McDonald's if they were still interested. Both declined, getting her subtle hint of where they could go, Martha's way of ending it for good.

Rick never knew that she was aware that Ray, a former boyfriend of hers and the closest thing to a father he ever had kept his Golden Gloves trophies. It was true he started boxing only because when someone would use a derogatory word to describe his mom, he would wind up with a slit lip, black eye, or worse.

Ray would always sign as his parent to get him back in school after the expulsion, soon the bullies who once made his life a living hell, were the ones who were in fear. Rick never was the aggressor, but the fact that he could and would kick their asses at any time kept them all running scared, worse than the beating.

As usual, Martha and Ray ended, but Rick and Ray never did, up till the end, they visited each other. Rick would travel to the Florida Keys, to fish, just to spend some time with him. One year passed without their normal visit, and when Rick saw him, he knew he didn't have long, Cancer had got him but as always, he never said a word.

Rick made the remainder of his time on earth as comfortable as possible and when his battle was over scattered his ashes over his favorite fishing spot. Ray's comment had been, "you know Rick all these years I've been pulling their family out of this water, seems fitting they get a chance to feast on what's left of me if they choose" and laughed, his last trip out.

Rick never told Martha of his passing, she had moved on to husband number 4 or 5, by then, he had quit counting after 2 or 3, he knew that Ray wouldn't have wanted to interfere with her life. The point was that Ray respected his mother as much as he did. His first boxing lessons were in Ray's garage, and the only man he ever had in his corner, for almost three years was Ray.

Rick turned to the page of notes, and what the eulogy should sound like, checking for errors, before tucking it into his pocket for the service tomorrow.

Cathy and Alexis had gone shopping for new dresses for the funeral, and come back with each purchasing a beautiful gown. Rick looked at Cathy and caught a look in her eye, it confirmed what he had pretended to be asleep earlier, that was the look of love. He better get ready to say the words, BUT he wanted to take care of Beckett and close that issue first.

"Well, is everyone ready to head back? If we leave now, we can avoid the evening rush if we're lucky," Rick said,

"Ready when you are Rick," Cathy took his hand, and squeezed

"I'm ready Dad, my stuff is already in the car," Alexis said,

They headed back to the city and as Alexis drove, "This was a great idea, Alexis, thanks for thinking of it," Rick said, as his arm went around Cathy and pulled her into his side tight. She smiled, kissed him gently then laid her head on his shoulder. The hum of the tires must be a great influencer on falling asleep, as Rick cradled her head much like she had done him she was in a deep peaceful sleep. He kissed her forehead, several times, just thinking about how lucky he was to have this lady still by his side.

"You're welcome, Daddy, I know she's exhausted, she's been up since we got the call watching over us, especially you," Alexis said with a smile,

"I know baby, I know, she's a good woman, more than good, and well, we just have to get through the next day or so, then I can concentrate on her and me." He said, as Alexis just glanced in the mirror and kept quiet, with a smile, knowing what her Dad meant.

Could he finally be free from the grasp of Captain Beckett? It sounded like it, but only time would tell, she had thought he had walked away on two other occasions, only to be pulled back. She wasn't against Kate, hell at one time she was a big fan, but, well, comparing what she did FOR her dad compared to what Cathy had there was no comparison.

They arrived back at the loft and took the private entrance once Rick had called Mike, head of his security to be sure no paparazzi were lurking. Cathy stirred waking to find Rick's deep blue eyes locked on her, his look was so sweet, almost like the look of love. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I must have crashed, how long was I out?" She asked,

Alexis laughed, "since we were twenty minutes away from the Hamptons, you crashed Cathy. I knew you needed some rest, just like Dad you've been burning the candle at both ends and the middle as well."

"Oh Goodness, I didn't think I was out that long, I'm so sorry Rick," she said, as she pulled him into a hug,

"Sorry? For what? If I recall I think I had a good position on the way up, it was your turn today," and his real smile came out for the first time since the news about Martha.

"Well, I still should have been awake to comfort you, and to be here if you wanted to talk about her letter, you know you can't ignore it, not when she went to the trouble she did. You aren't that kind of man; you've never been rude and I know you will be as kind as you can to her." She kissed him gently as Alexis pulled into the parking spot beside Rick's other three cars.

"It's OK, Cathy, I know what I have to do, the first thing is to read it. If it gets too tough before the service tomorrow, I'll do it after. I promise I will and it won't take months, is that OK?" he asked, still holding her in his arms, locked on her eyes, not moving although the engine had stopped, the music no longer filled the airwaves, it seemed as they were lost in each other.

"Perfect Rick" she whispered, as Alexis cleared her throat, and said, "you guys DO know we're home, don't you?" and laughed

Rick helped her out of the car and took her suitcase as her arm went around his waist, hugging him tightly as they made their way to the elevator and the loft.

It was a quiet ride up, and as usual, Alexis found someplace, she had to go to allow them privacy. Cathy walked to the fridge, pulled out two beers, and handed him one.

"Thanks, you read my mind, it's too early for wine, and besides we need to decide our dinner plans," he said as he smiled,

"Rick, look out the window, we're not going out until this whole mess is back to somewhat normal, they'll find their next hot story soon, then we'll get back to normal, how does that sound?" She asked as she kissed him, "besides, you need to rest for more than a few hour car ride"

"So do you then, what if after dinner, we take a nap, I'm serious, I'll be good, just sleep, it will feel so good to have you next to me." He said,

"You mean that Rick? I was hoping I wasn't the only one feeling those feelings," she said, this time he kissed her, and left no doubt. "I'm sure," he smiled,

"Eh, Cathy, I,"

"Rick go, read her letter, I'm right here, and please be kind, the same kind man I met on that airplane" she kissed him gently, "I'm going to get a shower, and change clothes, something comfortable," she said, then saw his eyebrows waggle, "HEY not that comfortable, we need to rest. I promise there will be plenty of time for that, I'll never refuse you, I couldn't I love you too much," she said, she had finally gotten it out,

"I know you do; I'll show you my answer soon, just a few days but I'm not going anywhere, OK?" he asked, as he kissed each eye,

"Of course, sweetheart, go read the letter" she smiled, as she made her way to the guest bathroom to allow him privacy.

XxX

Rick walked around the giant desk running his finger along the edge as he thought of the memories this piece of fine furniture could share IF it only had a voice. Some he was glad that would remain silent, others, well he had some great memories to survive any difficult times in his life that he was sure to come.

He picked up her letter, the stationary had been a gift from his Mother he thought if he remembered correctly, regardless, he carefully opened the letter and slid the neatly folded sheets from the envelope, spreading them smooth across his desk. He turned his chair, reached for the special occasion brew, the real SCOTCH, and poured himself a hearty 5 fingers, then turned back as he felt the deep burn of the fastidious liquid.

Now he was ready. He began to read, forcing himself not to use speed reading techniques, he wanted to understand EVERY word she had to say. It started as he had expected it would, there were few surprises when it came to Beckett and her habits. His eyes glanced down and slowly read,

"Dear Rick,

"I can't tell you how many times I've picked up the phone to call you, I think I did once, and I would like to apologize for that. I had too much to drink, and I wanted you to feel as lonely, missing our home as I was feeling. I have tried for years to recall what I said, and I can't.

Well, she did remember calling but not what she said, it was a good thing his voice mails were stored in his cloud account without any time limit, he would have to let her hear the message, maybe she could enlighten him on some points she had made about their relationship, points that HE thought were all talked out, forgiven and in the past. Apparently, with her, it wasn't as he believed.

He turned the volume down, no sense Cathy having to hear the verbal attack, he knew she was fighting with all of her might to remain civil to her. He accessed the cloud account and found the voicemail, it was time-stamped at 1:37 AM, he didn't bother to look at the date, but it had been less than two weeks since she left, he remembered that from the first time he listened to it. Then he saw his earbuds on the corner of his desk, then decided to listen to the message privately, he knew it would hurt Cathy if she heard any part of the message.

He pressed play and out it came, Beckett, slurring her words, obviously drunk, in a bar, and not alone, she wanted him to know that. "Come on Rick, grow a pair, pick up the phone, I know you're home, hell you're always at home. Maybe that's why I let Vaughn kiss me, he wasn't so boring.

"Come on, Castle, what's the matter no guts, you don't want to talk, well I do. I want you to know I'm getting ready to fuck the brains out of, hey what's your name, you, Ray? OK, I'm going to fuck Ray's brains out, maybe he can get me off.

"I don't know why every man I had in my life couldn't fuck worth a damn, none of you, not Will, not Tom, not Josh, and certainly not you Mr. Celebrity with a starlet on each arm, bet you couldn't fuck them either. I bet that's the real reason Meredith had someone taking care of her, not what you said, you were a terrible fuck, don't know how you got her pregnant if she's" BEEP tone sounded indicating that she had reached the time allowed for a voice mail.

He knew she wouldn't remember what she had said, but she had come very close to the line that NO ONE crossed and stayed in his life in ANY capacity, insinuating that Alexis was not his real child. He had heard it all before, DNA had proved he was her father within 99.999654%. They never would say 100% because of the chance of a lab error, but as he spoke to the DNA Analyst, it was as close as they would ever come to 100% on paper.

He had never brought it up because there had been no need, in his mind, Alexis was his daughter, when Kate told him she wanted him, only him, he made sure that Alexis and his Mother were not going to be left on the curb as they walked hand in hand into the great sunset in the sky. He thought, perhaps incorrectly, no he assumed Kate believed him and trusted his sense of family, but apparently, he was wrong about that as well.

One of his therapists who treated him after Meredith told him to listen to people when they were drunk, that was the time they were brave enough to tell him how they truly believed. Thinking back, it was They say the truth comes out when you're drunk and that drunk words are sober thoughts. That explained WHY that the higher the blood alcohol level was, the less concerned about any consequences of their words, and sometimes actions were for individuals.

The fact that she was belittling his skills in lovemaking didn't even cause a raised eyebrow, he expected her to conduct herself in a fashion as she had, he just didn't think it would be within two weeks of her leaving.

He had many reviews from many different types of partners, all having their desires unique to them, before and since her, to know he was more than adequate, and her words were an attempt to hurt him. If she had truly understood their parting conversation, she would have known, she had hurt him deeper than any words could ever do again.

He smiled as he continued to read her letter, "I have tried for years to recall what I said, and I can't. I know this was your way to subtly let me know you received it and did indeed feel the hurt I intended. For that, I apologize. I of all people had no right to do that to you, not after it was me who imploded our relationship with lies and deceit."

His grade school teacher, Mr. Ambeer always told him "Revenge was a dish, best served cold" as he chased the bullies away from this skinny, nerd, and different young man making him a prime target for bullies. He had asked him what it meant, and he just replied, "you'll understand it someday Richard". It was no coincidence that Mr. Ambeer worked his corner the night he won his first Open Division Golden Gloves Championship and watched as the students who once targeted him for bullying now did everything to avoid going near the young man.

Perhaps it was Ray's saying that stuck with him, "Rick, don't get angry, get even by using their words and deeds to embarrass them" He thought to himself, was it even possible to embarrass Beckett? He continued with the letter, taking slow sips from the whiskey, at strategic times.

He read the next lines and interpreted them as her boohoo about how tough it was being promoted without Roy, Royce, and him in the audience and thought about how many women would give their all to receive the gift she had received. The youngest woman to make Detective, (Roy Montgomery stuck his neck out), as well as Captain of a precinct in NYPD. He was sure that Weldon was just tired of her drama, he had said more than once he was looking for her to screw up so he could remove his problem.

Then he read the next paragraph, AH HAA, he thought this is why she wrote the letter, it was an assignment from her therapist. He had undergone the same exercise when he had been in therapy. At least receiving the letter now made sense, it was an ASSIGNMENT FROM HER DOCTOR.

"Dr. Burke has worked with me to help me realize that there was a human cost to my decision, well decisions, and unfortunately, you and your family paid that tab. I will never be able to say I'm sorry enough for those times."

He continued to read and his curiosity peaked when he read about her guest lecture at Columbia. He knew Johanna had been on her for years to leave the NYPD, take the bar exam and enter a RESPECTABLE occupation with normal hours. In many ways, Johanna was perhaps the closest thing to a clone of Sheila Blaine that he had ever known, especially when it came to trying to run her daughter's life, up to and including her occupation.

He blew off the opening lines of love you, never stopped, followed you from afar, as just window dressing as she described how she had run into Alexis. Rick smiled, his little girl did good, telling her absolutely nothing of value. He knew his daughter, and she would do just about anything to keep from hurting someone, so perhaps the Captain had got it correct when she had written, "perhaps it was to spare my feelings, as I said emotions were high on both sides."

He was quickly losing interest, this wasn't the letter he had expected, BUT at least he knew now it was an assignment from her therapist answering the WHY question to his satisfaction. His eyes skimmed the letter until his eyes found the words, "I think I've stalled long enough, you can spot trite conversation, one of your pet peeves used to be when someone started a story and went around the globe twice to tell it. "

At least she was obvious to his feelings about her approach to writing, even if she did follow up with more of how hard it is for ME, and then he read the line that pissed him off more than anything so far, I know how hard it will be for you IF you give me the courtesy of reading it."

He thought to himself, how would you know how HARD it would be for me? How hard ANYTHING would be for me? I haven't spoken to you in years, and you want to travel back in time when things were better, even then you had no idea of how I felt, if you did you sure as hell didn't care.

His eyes read more as she began to get to the real meat of the letter, after more of the poor me, I wish I could turn back time, great lines for a song but not real life. FINALLY, she was describing events from her point of view,

Perhaps he just read her most honest paragraphs of the letter, at least so far.

"I remember every second of standing on that bomb, and how hard you worked to keep me calm, even trying to get a rise about who loved the other first. I'll admit, I was attracted to you early on, but so afraid of you just wanting another conquest, I pushed back harder than I normally would when you tried to reach out in friendship.

"Some of the things I said, I've had time to remember a great deal Rick, perhaps the one positive aspect of spending time on the road, alone, a benefit from the AG position. I can't believe some of the things said could have come out of my mouth, but they did."

Yes, they sure as hell did, not once, not twice but some repeatedly. Then his eyes found the impetus for her writing the paragraphs, once again her therapist, Dr. Burke.

"Dr. Burke's advice was to tell you that I have made progress in recognizing what I did. I do know how hurtful they were and still are, even to me as I remember our time together."

It seemed as though she was following some template the good doctor had provided to her so she could get her assignment completed to his satisfaction. Her letter even confessed that it took more than one session for her to understand her actions, their consequences, and who was really hurt, so was it an apology or an assignment? Rick was leaning more toward an assignment.

"I hope that makes sense to you, it took me a few sessions with the doctor to work through the reasoning, but he pushed me until I THINK I know why I did them. I don't want to rehash the entire time since we met, I know you don't have the desire or time to read such ramblings.

Again, his eyes returned to her letter, as he read her words, he could remember how he felt the entire time, and it had been true, he was going to die with her rather than live without her. Funny how quickly things changed, and it made him ponder if she would have been watching as the building went up in smoke from a safe distance had he been the one standing on the bomb. At the time he would have bet his life she felt as he did, now, oddsmakers were putting it at less than a sure thing.

He read on,

"A short time later, when Captain Gates said "not many men would do what you did", was so true. He skipped the next section, they had debated who had saved each other's lives the most until it wasn't even important, well not anymore.

Once again, a paragraph with some ownership, as well as the life HE had expected now that their relationship was in the open. Then she repeated the same story over once again about her and Vaughn, so what was the truth? The words she had written on these sheets of paper as an assignment for her shrink or the alcohol-fueled insults she had thrown at him that was now recorded in the Cloud, he was leaning towards the words out of her mouth.

He did notice that the paragraphs were becoming more of a historical outline of their lives, short on apologies or reasons why. The more she wrote the more the old Beckett appeared on the pages,

"When she told me to kiss you, I almost died, it was validation that our relationship could finally come out into the open, we could be partners in more than just one aspect. We could have, we should have BUT I started us on the downward spiral, I see it now. No matter what happened between Eric Vaughn and me, doesn't matter. I swear my story is the same as it was then, and I told you the truth."

His thoughts about that incident were sealed deep in his mind and heart, right or wrong, she had done nothing to change his mind. The ONLY reason he discovered it at all was Ryan's reenactment of the shots fired. If he had not pulled his typical cock blocking moves, he doubted he would have ever been told. She bit his head off about the champagne in TWO glasses, she always drank water on duty, well with him, and quickly retreated when it came out about the kiss.

Rick smiled at her attempt to even things out, once again with the help of her therapist. It seemed as if Beckett was continuing to Keep Score, you did this, so I'm allowed to do that.

"Dr. Burke asked me to recall the incident when you accidentally dialed my number when Cristina, the bikini reporter made several overt, and aggressive sexual attempts with you. He asked me to remember how long it took me to forget picturing the image of another woman's breasts in my partner's face."

Of course, he remembered looking up with Kate holding her gun, aimed at Cristina, and even though she knew that HE was the victim, he paid hell for the longest time. The next paragraph gave him some insight into her therapist's handling of a very difficult patient, even though the situation was spelled out so that a grade school student could understand, there was still no apology until several lines farther down, and it was weak at best.

"Then he paused, and asked me, how long do you think it's going to take Rick to forget the fact that you were kissed by another man, while on assignment, with champagne in a glass, and didn't come forward with it until the recreation of the shooting left you no choice. He asked me how I would have felt if situations were reversed, at least you were honest when it happened, and agreed to do what would make me forget.

"He was correct, and once again a very late I'm so sorry Rick. I never should have allowed anyone I was charged to protect to break the professional perimeter of my responsibility, regardless if I was with someone or not. The timing of it made it even worse, that he happened so soon after you had risked your life, trying to get me off the bomb, even willing to die with me than live without me.

"Instead of getting my act together, showing you the thanks, pride and love I always felt for you, what did I do? A few weeks later, I'm sure you remember this case, the drones, and that damn lying Son Of A Bitch, Agent Stack. Just after we closed the case, he asked to see me. You never questioned it, or think it was out of order, you were always trustful and allowed me the freedom to do my job.

He read the next few paragraphs and thought, OK, here we go, this is the BLAME GAME, she played so well. Of course, he remembered the case, and Stack, and if ANYONE was a liar it was her. How she knew about him spending a week with Tom and Jordy he didn't know or care. He was sure that Shaw had told her what an idiot she was, all she needed to do was to call her to verify his credentials. He wasn't even an Agent, he was a sub-contractor recruiting police officers for less than glorious roles. A liar got played by a liar, truly a modern-day case of irony.

"I wish I had been as trustful, and respectful to you, Rick, I beg your forgiveness now, I'm sure you've put the pieces together by now of what happened.

Rick didn't give a shit about the process of her falling for another man's line, it didn't matter, not now, not anymore. He skimmed down to the confession about details of her deceiving him, even though he thought they were in a committed relationship. He didn't care anymore that she had used her safe space, as she called it, her old apartment to pull off the ruse under his nose. If anything, he became angrier with her, he meant so little to her when she had been his whole world

"You can say it, Rick, I did so many times after the first two months, I was a sucker, and I should have trusted you enough to talk to you about it. You even asked later that evening what Stack wanted to talk about and I told you the first of a series of lies, no other way to put it. I replied nothing when at the time, my ego was working on me for a job I didn't even know existed a few days before. The seed was planted and was growing rapidly in my mind, he had left a business card, and I called it 5 days later.

"I was careful not to work on anything to do with the job except at my apartment, yeah, I know another one foot out the door scenario that you allowed me to have until I gained the trust you thought I would with the love and security you were providing.

"I set the entire interview up from the apartment, even Gates knew about it since they called her for a reference. I had to tell her that I hadn't spoken to you yet, she looked so disappointed and told me that she had made several career moves in her years, BUT each one was made AFTER a discussion with her life partner, and suggested I trust you.

If there had been hopes that she had changed, even as slim as they were, all hope was lost when he read the next paragraph. Yes, he had heard those words, My life, my decision, not about you, and a lot more, but what was the use?

Beckett was still trying to justify WHY she did it, even now looking back at the damage she caused to so many lives, she STILL had to try to justify her actions. She summed up the entire process, and their time together with the words that sealed his decision about her, "I wanted control of my life" even though she had pledged she just wanted him, less than a year before. He was afraid that it would only be a matter of time, even if they ever could work through the hurt before she wanted control once again.

"I was afraid you would try to talk me out of at least interviewing and I wanted control of my life. I justified it by saying we weren't married or engaged, so I was free to make my decisions, I know how terrible that sounds even as I'm writing it. I'm sure your mind recalls several times you've heard the words, it's my life, it's not about you, it's my decision, about more than just this, and that is the one part of our relationship I will always regret.

"If I had only trusted you one half as much as you did me, even after all my screwups, you were still the same trusting, partner you always were. I see now how badly that hurt you, trust destroyed is perhaps the one emotion that we have the most trouble forgiving, well according to Dr. Burke. I know I broke your trust, well demolished it if we're being accurate, and I am sorrier than I can express.

He skimmed the remainder of the letter, not caring about how, when, who, or circumstances that brought her back to New York, sometimes Sorry Isn't Enough. Ironic, that the relationship that Martha had pushed so hard died, and now that Kate wanted to reconnect, he was afraid it had been dead much longer than his mother. He knew Cathy would tell him to go see her, to be sure, and now he was.

He opened his office door to see Cathy bringing him a cup of fresh coffee, worry in her eyes, but not in her smile.

He took the coffee from her, she was searching his eyes, his face for any kind of clue, what would be her fate? He knew she loved him, hell she had to, no one had ever put up with him this long without ever asking for a single thing. He broke into a smile, closed the door, and locked it, even though Martha was the only one who never thought locks were for her, and showed her his answer.

"Rick, I love you, you know that, but are you sure, I mean, I want you to be happy more"

"Shut up and kiss me, and of course, I'm sure. Once Mother's service is over, we'll take care of the details and choose where WE want to live, I mean if that's what you want?" he asked,

She took his hand and led him to where she wanted to spend the rest of her life, she cried tears of joy for her, and as stupid as it sounded, sadness for Kate, it was just the way she was.

TBC

A/N: So, this is NON-Caskett, I'm sorry for all of you who voted the other way BUT I just couldn't pull it off. I saw some older episodes and it confirmed that as much as the writers tried, Marlowe set up some story arcs, such as this one to totally destroy the couple, in real life. We have to celebrate the life of Martha, and have the fateful meeting with the Captain, at least she got that before we call this one done.

Once again Thanks for all of the reviews, messages, and emails, and a special thanks to PMT0622

"There are no guarantees in life. The best Rick can do is look to the past to predict the future. If a person has lied directly to your face multiple times and never placed your needs above their wants, you can fairly accurately predict that she will do the same in the future.

Retain the fond memories and let go of the numerous bad ones to move on to someone who has never lied to you and has placed, at the minimum, your needs above her own. That may or may not be Cathy but it sure seems that what Rick and she currently have is considerably above the relationship that was offered by Kate."