PLANE

Chapter 9

"KATIE!" Jim reached out to draw her into him into the biggest hug he had ever given her. He had such fears about her job. He just knew one day he was going to get a phone call telling him to rush to the hospital if he wanted a chance to tell his daughter goodbye one last time. He hadn't expected her to just up and disappear for three entire weeks.

Kate could feel this hug was different from all the others. The hugs she got from Castle were better but this was a close second. "Hi, Dad."

.x{O}x.

"You can't tell me where you've been all this time but you're here and you're safe. You don't have a bullet hole somewhere or some nasty knife wound you're hiding from me?" That was his next biggest fear. That his daughter was turning herself, her body actually, into some kind of horror movie stand-in.

"Nope, I'm good. See, not a mark on me." Kate showed him her arms and lifted up a pant leg as far as it would go which only showed him her calf, but it was enough for Jim.

"Good." Jim hung his head for a second. "So tell me what's different. You look and sound different and you haven't wiped that smile off your face since you got here." Yes, he knew that his daughter knew how to smile. It was just that she did it so rarely. Another reason why he worried about her job.

"Smiling?" Kate touched her lips; she didn't really feel any different. Except for maybe missing Castle a little already. She didn't want to be needy, she really didn't. But suddenly she felt lonely, that there was a part of her that was missing.

"I may have met someone, Dad."

"Oh, so do I get to know about this person? He's obviously had an affect on you and you look happy for a change." Jim waited expectantly.

"Yeah, he makes me… Change!" Kate glared at him for that comment. "I was happy before. What do you mean change?"

Jim sighed. "Katie, I haven't seen you look like this since before your mother died. So yes, change. Something has changed and if he's the cause of it then I may just have to thank him for it."

"Oh." Suddenly he had a point. As for ever meeting him, she didn't know how or even if that was going to be possible. That was one of the downsides about all this. No one here was likely ever going to meet him. "There is one thing though. I've been suspended. Montgomery wasn't happy about me not being able tell him about where I've been or why I didn't even try to call him. Even if my phone is kinda dead-ish." Kate took it out and looked at it. "Twelve percent."

"How long?" Jim queried.

"He started with two days but since I doubt he's going to be able to find these people, it's going to turn into one week. But there's a bright side. I can have lots of lunches with you to make up for those three weeks. Starting maybe tomorrow?" Kate asked cautiously.

"I think I can work you into my schedule. Do I at least get a name?" Jim would look him up himself.

"Richard Castle," Kate told him quickly and easily.

"Yours and your mother's favorite author!?" Now that certainly was a surprise and he didn't know how to take it. Richard Castle was semi-famous and not all of it in a good way.

"No, a different Richard Castle. This one has a daughter, Alexis. She's… she's. I don't recall if I know exactly how old she is. Strange, I'm not sure I ever asked. Anyway, she's a teenager. Very smart, highly skilled, very pretty. Her mother and grandmother both died in the same incident. So tragic. She doesn't even remember either of them she was so young.

"I don't think I even bothered to ask if she had a boyfriend yet. I know she has a best friend. Got to meet her briefly. She was nice." For a half Air Genasi and half Elf. Like a real Elf straight out of Lord of the Rings-kind-of-Elf. Not to mention all the other races she had met. Like a real live Centaur.

.x{O}x.

Kate was home again and her dad was happy. She was presently in the bathroom that wasn't nearly as nice as the one she had grown used to. Coming out she hadn't yet noticed that she was naked. She had gotten so used to sleeping naked next to Castle that it didn't even dawn on her just what she was doing.

She did soon learn what it was like to sleep alone in her old bed. SHE HATED IT! She was tossing and turning. One pillow was under her head, the other was getting the life squeezed out of it. Then it got moved to between her legs but that didn't help any either.

"It doesn't even smell like Castle." Oh, why hadn't she planned for this better?

She had even eventually gotten up and gone to the mirror, saw her reflection, and only now noticed that she was naked. Touching the mirror got her nothing. "Alexis and Talia should be home by now. Wonder what they found?" She was suspended so she couldn't even find out anything about the Zombies Alexis had killed.

Two long hours later and Kate was still twisting and turning. "DAMN IT! Castle, please!?" Kate wiped away the tears and eventually fell asleep.

.x{O}x.

There was a noise. It had woken her Kate was thinking and it took another moment or two for her foggy brain to work out it was the door. Getting out of bed she was half way there when she realized she was still naked. She groaned and went back to her bedroom and into her bathroom to find her bathrobe. She fumbled her way into it, tied it shut, and hurried to the door.

"OH SHIT! Lanie." And boy, did she ever look determined. Kate managed to open the door and gave a small forced smile. "Hi, Lanie."

"Don't you Hi Lanie me, girlfriend! I had to find out from Javi that you were back! Couldn't be bothered to call and tell me." Lanie marched into her apartment determined to find out just where and what her best friend had been up to for the last three weeks.

"Don't just stand there – tell me where you've been," Lanie demanded.

"Nice to see you too, Lanie, and I can't tell you. I couldn't tell Captain Montgomery so he suspended me, and I can't tell you either." Kate stuck to her story since it was all she really had. Then she walked past Lanie and sat down on her sofa.

Lanie might be upset and angry but Kate was her best friend so she sat next to her. "What can you tell me?" Lanie looked her over. "Are you hurt somewhere? Do I need to take you to the hospital?"

"What? No, I'm not hurt anywhere. Nothing's broken. There are no new wounds." Actually, even the old ones were mostly gone. Kate had gotten firsthand knowledge about just what a powerful Cleric was capable of. Her old scars were barely even visible now. She was baby-smooth again and god did she love the feel of Castle's hands along that oh-so smooth skin.

"But you've been crying." Lanie could see her red puffy eyes. She didn't see any tears at the moment but she could tell Kate had been crying.

Kate shrugged. "I can't sleep. I've been awake most of the night."

"Where you were, was it that bad?" Lanie couldn't think of another reason for her to be awake all night. She didn't even date, so it couldn't be that.

"No, it was actually really nice." That wasn't why she was crying and couldn't sleep. "I miss him, Lanie!" Kate leaned into her and could feel the tears starting all over again. "My first night away and I can't sleep without him. I'm in so much trouble." Kate felt her put an arm around her. It actually did help a little but not nearly enough.

"You met a guy!? You met a guy and you've been gone three long weeks. This isn't Stockholm syndrome, is it?" That was Lanie's first fear. She was quickly coming up with others.

"Stockholm… No, it was nothing like that. What am I going to do, Lanie? He's gone for three whole weeks. I'll be dead by then," Kate moaned since these three weeks were necessary and she knew she needed to come back. It was just she also knew she was going back. Maybe a one hour visit once a month if she could talk Castle into it.

"So, what's his name and tell me you love him." Lanie didn't think she needed an answer about if she loved him or not. She was admitting that she was going to miss him and was crying over it yet again right now.

"Richard Castle, and yes, I love him." Kate was able to confirm that she was in really deep.

"Your favorite author? That Richard Castle?" That was interesting news.

"No, not that Richard Castle. A different Richard Castle. He's not an author and he has a teenage daughter and before you say it, he's…he's thirty-six, I think?" Her memory was suddenly foggy.

"Thirty-six and he has a teenage daughter?" Boy, had he started early! Like seriously early. "Well, knowing you he has to be handsome and damn good in bed." Lanie wasted no time in getting right to the good stuff. "How good is he and how big is he? Details, girl, details!"

"You don't waste time, do you, Lanie?" Kate was still leaning into her and letting her hold her but had stopped crying again.

"Sounds like neither did you. Why three weeks?" This should be interesting.

"He's out of town for three weeks. I can't even talk to him." She was in so much trouble.

"But you get him back in three weeks, right?" Lanie felt Kate nod her head. "Does your vibrator have fresh batteries?"

That had Kate snorting out a laugh. That was just it, she didn't know and hadn't even thought about using it to relieve some of the pressure she was feeling. "I'll go to the store and get new ones."

"Do I get to meet this man who's stolen your heart?" Lanie really wanted to meet whoever had managed to reach Kate. She was such a closed off person. She actually had feared that her best friend would never meet anyone, let alone fall this much in love with him.

"I'll see what I can arrange."

"Good enough for now." Just then her cell phone rang. "Well, crap." Lanie pulled out her cell phone and asked for a text of the address so she would have it. "I have to go. Will you be alright? Do I need to call your dad for you?"

Kate smiled and shook her head. "No, I saw him last night. We're having lunch later."

"Good. Survive your three weeks." Lanie had one last question before she left. "Does he know that you love him?"

"I told him." Kate had managed to do that. Right at the very last minute.

"Well, you get to tell him again in three weeks. Just hang in there – it's only three more weeks. I need to run. Call me if you need anything. Even if it's my shoulder to cry on."

"Thanks, Lanie, and I'm sorry about the three weeks. I didn't really have a choice." She truly didn't. Stupid mirror only worked for three hours every three weeks.

"So long as you're back perfectly safe and sound and in love. I'm happy for you. Tell your dad you love him. I get a day off and we'll do something." Lanie gave her a quick hug and let herself out.

.x{O}x.

Just like Kate had expected, she got a call from Montgomery telling her that her two days had just become a week. She knew he wasn't going to find anyone, so one week was a given as long as he went through with it, and he had.

Still, by the time her one week was over she was happy to be back at work again. It took her mind off of missing Castle, or even Alexis and Talia, or trying to cover parts of her body with tattoos. And to think what it had taken to get her one tiny little tattoo. Now she might end up with much larger ones. She had even decided on which one was going to be first.

Cheetah tattoo gains a +10 foot enhancement bonus to his movement. This tattoo is always active. The tattooed monk's bonus to movement increases by an additional +10 feet to a maximum movement bonus of +60 at his maximum skill level.

Since it went up +10 feet each time Kate couldn't begin to imagine just how fast that was going to be.

Kate had seen his tattoos and they were all much larger than the little tattoo on her butt that she had gotten in her time in Kyiv. These were not just larger but very colorful. She didn't know who had done his but they were obviously very talented.

.x{O}x.

Kate didn't know how Montgomery was going to take this, but she didn't have a choice. So she knocked first and then entered. "Reporting for duty, sir." Kate stood perfectly still.

"Paperwork clearing you for work from the Department-approved psychiatrist?" Roy held out his hand thinking she had hers behind her back since that was where her hands were.

"That's just the thing, sir. He's busy; I couldn't get in for another week. Six days to be precise."

Now Roy hadn't anticipated this development so that wasn't good news. He took his hand back. "Step back outside, Beckett, let me see what I can do about that." Roy watched her step out of his office and he picked up the phone, looked up the number, and made the call.

He was stuck with using a Department-approved psychiatrist so he had little choice. "Beckett!" She hadn't gone far since he could see her through the glass. "My hands are tied. Until you get clearance from the Department psychiatrist I can't put you on active duty. However, you are off suspension. Once you have clearance go down to the gun range and get certified.

"That's all, Beckett." Roy was trapped any be extension so was Kate.

.x{O}x.

Now she just needed to figure out what to do with herself for the next six days. She'd had a number of lunches with her dad. She had Lanie over who drilled her with questions about Castle and his daughter. Why exactly she loved him so much? Kate had done her best to answer her while not giving away where she had been.

"Six more days." Though technically, it was two weeks. At least she got to drink coffee that was better than what was in the Precinct breakroom. That stuff was bad. She shuddered just thinking about drinking it.

.x{O}x.

"Hi, Dad, how are you doing?" Alexis had found him at home and gone to see him yet again. She wasn't blind. Her dad was deeply in love with Kate and she was happy for him. He deserved to find someone and she had actually learned to like Kate. But her being gone was hurting him.

Rick was all set to say FINE. But he hated that word. No one should be just fine. Fine was not a good emotion or place to be. Fine was barely above Life sucks! So instead, he revealed that he had been counting the time… which was also bad. "Thirteen days, eleven hours, and I don't know how many minutes." He hadn't checked the time in the last fifteen minutes.

Alexis wrapped herself around him and hugged him. "She'll be back, Dad. Stupid mirror." They both knew she needed to go back and see her dad, her friends, and verify for herself that she belonged here and not there, even if she had grown up on the Prime Material Plane.

Rick put his arms around her in return. He had already considered trying it even a day or two early. It was just if they broke it, it could take months to replace it, and he was suffering from just one week and had two more to go.

"Are you going to ask her? I know Master Jetchi is willing to teach her. I know Setheldath was a little put out that Kate wasn't willing to be a Dragon Disciple. But knowing her, she'll try again once she gets the chance. Can you imagine, a Tattooed Monk and Dragon Disciple with scales and wings? Kate would be one of a kind." Alexis actually smiled a little at the idea.

"To be honest, I think that's part of what scares her about it. The scales and the wings were just too much for her. Prime Material Plane, after all. She doesn't think like we do. That's probably partly why I love her so much. She's so different." Rick looked at his daughter. "And yes, I do plan to ask her to marry me. I'm just not sure when that will be."

Alexis tilted her head slightly and raised her eyebrow. "The marriage or the proposal?"

Rick chuckled a little. "Both." He didn't want to scare her away by proposing too soon. These three weeks were going to be hard enough.

"A little birdie tells me you're dating someone." Rick smiled and looked down at her.

That had Alexis letting go of him and taking a step back. "Which little birdie? I'll kill him! Or it." Alexis couldn't discount that it was an actual bird. Not on this Plane.

"What's his name? Or do I need to hire my own little birdie to find out?" Rick waited impatiently.

Alexis grumbled, "His name is Vodos. He's a Triton and don't say it." She tried to stop him in his tracks.

"Say what? That I'm happy for you? That now I at least know why you keep sneaking off to the other level? Or do you think that I would disapprove that he's a Triton?" Rick challenged her.

"No, I guess I just…" Alexis tried to defend him. "He's different, Dad. We don't have Tritons up here and he has a Royal Bloodline. Not that he's ever going to become a prince or something. Too many older brothers and sisters for that to ever happen. And he likes me."

"And what does his family think of you?" She was just another human after all. They were everywhere.

"They're a little cool but I'm working on that. I bought a Ring of Water Breathing. Though I can't swim to the depths that they do." Alexis still had one problem to overcome.

"Are you going to grow webs between your toes?" Rick teased her.

"Not me." Alexis didn't know of a way to make that kind of a change. Then she saw the look on his face. "I'm not pregnant, Dad. We haven't even done that. And it's only been two, no, three dates. I'm not that old. Granted you and Mom were rather young when you had me. But I don't plan to have children at that age."

"Neither did your mother and I and look how that turned out." Rick knew he had been far too young. No, Alexis wasn't planned but she wasn't a mistake. "So, do I go down to visit his family or are they coming up here?"

"We haven't even started to talk about that yet." Alexis was fidgeting and Rick decided to let her off the hook, so to speak, at least for now.

"How is Talia working out?" Rick inquired. "I noticed you didn't come back with a dead Lich."

"No, we didn't. Pisses me off and Talia is doing…just great." Now Kate had her using that dirty word her dad hated so much. "She has skill and isn't afraid. She's falling fast for her Centaur boyfriend, though. Oh, and she misses Kate too. Her arrival here has touched a number of lives. It'll be good to have her home again." Alexis would be glad when Kate was back. It would make her dad and Talia happy again, which in turn would make her even more happy.

"Two weeks." Rick hoped he could last that long.

"You mean thirteen days and however many hours and minutes." Alexis grinned at him since he was counting and she wasn't.

"Oh, shut up and go kiss your boyfriend or something. Just stop sneaking off on me."

"Is that an order, Dad?" Alexis's smile got even bigger. Then she squealed and ran for it when he lunged for her. She hated it because her dad knew all her weak spots and could tickle her. But she loved him like nobody's business. He was all she had but maybe that would change soon. Just as soon as Kate came back and married her dad. Boy, was that going to be a massive wedding!