92 Days
by Castlefan6
Authors Note: This is Totally AU; Beckett has left the hospital after her shooting, This describes the activity of each, during those 92 days without contact, both in the hospital and out. It blends some Canon dialog, courtesy of Dust Jackets Dot Com, then goes quickly and completely AU. What were each up to during this time, 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 14
Dr. Burke's Office
Day 87, 6:58 PM
Kate's POV
Kate was still reeling from the visit to Doctor Burke, hell was he part mind reader as well as the NYPD shrink? She hated how he had read her so easily, and also now that she wouldn't go back to work, she needed to find something to do with her time. She knew Lanie was going to be pissed, but, well, she was still her friend.
She decided to wait till she got back to her apartment, she still had the rest of the mail to open and sort left from earlier in the day. If Lanie was too pissed off, perhaps a little time cooling off would work on her, she knew her friend couldn't stay mad at her for long.
She stopped by the burger joint and actually bought a to-go burger meal, including fries, and a milkshake. She knew she had to eat since she had researched the caloric intake required for her normal workout, not including the additional physical therapy sessions. Gone were the days that Rick would show up with meals out of the blue just to make sure she ate, hell, gone were the days with Castle period from what she could see.
Every bookstore, every movie theater she passed on her way home were boasting the World Premiere of Heatwave, the latest of Rick Castle's books to hit the bestseller list. The movies had the promo shots of Ellie, and an actor that could be Rick's stunt double had he required one. The resemblance was uncanny, but she still couldn't wrap her arms around Ellie Monroe playing her on the big screen, well not her, but the character she inspired.
After she finished her meal, she noticed there was a box, cleverly hidden on the bottom of the pile of mail. She pulled it out, and opened it, a special edition of Heatwave along with a letter from Gina, thanking her for all of her past support, and included two tickets for the world premiere of Heatwave, confirmation required by, 9:00 AM on the day of the show, hell that was in three days.
She dialed the number, entered her code, and confirmed two seats, even though she had no idea if she would go to it or not. Even if she decided to go, who would she go with?
She glanced at the copy of Heatwave, it was embossed in Gold, and inside, was a personal message from Rick to each supporter, or so the letter had said. She wondered what her message would be, her mind raced with several suggestions, none of which were complementary or G-rated for kids. Well, it was time to rip the band-aid off and see what he had written, if anything.
She held the book for a moment, remembering some of the cruel comments she had made to him, even after he had been with her, for every crisis, both from work and personal. She knew she cared about him, but she didn't understand the natural urge to push him away, each time he tried to get closer. She closed her eyes, and opened the book, she loved the smell of ink on a new book, and carefully found the page he always used to sign.
She was holding her breath, when she saw his handwriting, his familiar sharpie, his crisp, clean words, always in perfect alignment, she read,
"To Kate,
May all your dreams come into reality, and may you take the time to know it when they do,
All the Best,
Castle,"
It was different than any dedication she had ever seen of his, as Kyra Blaine's words floated back into her memory, "He only dedicates his books to those he cares a great deal about". He hadn't mentioned her as extraordinary, or any of the previous compliments he had paid her. If he were going to do it, this would have been the setting, since she knew once he signed his book, they were sealed and addressed without anyone reading what he had written.
Perhaps she was reading too much into it, it was just a dedication to a book she had already seen and read. Well, if she needed any more pain now was the time to call Lanie and get it over with. She just hoped she would answer the phone, chickening out she decided to send a text to test the waters first.
"Lanie, are you going to be around tonight, I don't want to disturb your plans" KB
"The only plan I have is a date with the laundry room, where are you anyway?"
"I got home to my apartment yesterday, and wanted to talk to you, things aren't going so well"
"So now you want to talk when things aren't going so well, where is writer man?"
"I haven't talked to him since before I left the hospital, so I don't know, judging from the papers, he's in LA."
"Girlfriend turn on your TV to Entertainment Tonight, I'll be over soon with the wine"
Kate found her remote, wondering what the hell Lanie was talking about. She tuned the set to the channel, then she saw, it was pictures of Rick and the lady, with what or whoever she was, there were six or seven of them including Gina, Paula, and the lady from the studio. They were exiting Rick's plane, and getting into a limo,"
The reporter came on to voice over the pictures, "As you can see, Richard Castle and the entourage from both Lion Gate Studios and Black Pawn have arrived as they look forward to releasing the world premiere of Heatwave in less than three days, Mr. Castle's latest best-seller having reached number one last week on the Times list.
"Early reviews from the harshest movie critics are raving about the film adaptation, and particularly Ellie Monroe's depiction of Nikki Heat, the lead character, who portrays a sexy, yet very competent NYPD Lead Detective, as both fresh and relative to the film. One critic was quoted as saying Miss Monroe was and I quote, sexy without being slutty, and delivered a very believable depiction of the role of the Lead Detective.
"Mr. Castle would neither confirm nor deny the rumor that the deal for the second book in the Nikki Heat Series has already been started with veteran film mogul Roy Reith taking on the task of adapting the book to the screenplay. He referred us to his publicist, Miss Paula Haas, who advised us that she would issue a press release when there was something to release.
"Other confidential sources have confirmed a multi-picture deal has been reached between the principal actors, including Miss Monroe, who everyone agrees seems delighted to be working on this project. We were promised a big surprise during the world premiere in three days just down the street at the Ed Sullivan theater, what type of surprise remains a mystery.
"We have confirmed that it will indeed be a star-filled night, with the Mayor, Governor, and Senator William Bracken in attendance just to name a few. As you can see the limo, or I should say limos have left the airfield, now to an undisclosed location. We'll update this story with any breaking details as we get them," Nicole, back to you in the studio,
Kate turned the TV off, so whoever he was dancing cheek to cheek with in LA, he had brought her here. She looked like she meant much more to him than a typical arm candy model or actress would, and there was no doubt she was smitten with him, a woman knows. And the critic praising Ellie Monroe's depiction of a lead detective, this she had to see. Just as she started grumbling with the TV, now silent she heard Lanie's knock on her door, well here it comes she thought.
She opened the door and started to apologize when she saw Lanie's universal sign of talk to the hand, so she shut up.
Lanie walked through the door silently and waited until Kate had closed the door and then gave her an ass-chewing as she had never done before. She had seen Lanie go off on people but never experienced it herself.
"Oh, don't worry Kate, your neighbors won't hear any of this, do you want to know why? Because Rick Castle paid to have the sound, bulletproof door, and windows installed along with the complete safety system for you. Hell, he wasn't even here when they put them in, I was. Three Kate, you know what that means?
"The number of times you communicated with me, three fucking texts, that was it, the last one just said be home soon. If you weren't still recovering, I'd beat your skinny ass, now tell me, why should any of your friends forgive you this time, you do know that Rick has moved on. That's on you Beckett, totally, no sympathy points from any of us on that." Lanie was breathing fire,
"I know Lanie, believe me, I know. My dad is working for Rick now, and we haven't said more than ten words in the last six weeks. I hate it, but even Dad had his fill of me and left. I've got bigger problems than that now, even as bad as that sounds, I got turned down by the shrink for my approval to return to work. I thought he would be a rubber stamp send me the $500 fee, and I would be done, but no, I'm now in therapy three times a week for one-hour sessions,
"What do you mean you got turned down by the shrink, what exactly did he say, where is your paperwork?" Kate?
Kate took the forms out of her purse, she hadn't bothered to even read them and handed them to Lanie.
"Kate, I think I know the answer but have you even read these yet? Girlfriend you have 90 days to meet mental standards of NYPD or Dr. Burke is requesting a medical retirement for you." Lanie said, holding the papers loosely in her hand,
"What, he can't do that, I mean, eh, I. Can he do that Lanie?" She finally asked,
Her eyes gave her the answer she needed to hear, but when the words came out it struck her like a cold piece of steel directly to her heart, "He can and he has already filed the preliminary paperwork, Kate, this is serious."
Kate reached over without a word, opened the bottle of vodka, and just took a long healthy swig, she had bigger problems than she ever thought,
XxX
Limo to Four Seasons
Day 87 7:10 PM
Rick's driver was in communication with the other four drivers, and all but one driver had reported the paparazzi had dropped off of the chase. The remaining limo was en route towards New Jersey and wanted to know how long Rick wanted him to keep driving.
"Tell him to take the long way down to the wharves, and then double back on the side streets to lose them on the freeway back to New York, have some fun with them" Rick laughed,
"Oh, he's enjoying this Rick, he owes them all something and this is his payback, he's out by the landfill, the odor is killing them since many are riding on scooters, the few in cars had the windows down trying to hang out to get shots but the windows are closed now." Dave his driver relayed to Rick, who howled with laughter,
"Great, garbage smell combined with the fish docks, if that doesn't stop them guess we'll need to come up with some kind of unique stink bombs" Rick laughed and raised the glass separating the driver from passengers.
Gina had been on her phone during Rick's conversation and smiled as she hung up. "David, when you get close to the hotel, take the back road, the one for deliveries, we're headed up to our suites via the freight elevators with the hotel and Rick's security teams, she spoke into the phone to advise the driver his instructions.
"Well, good job Genes, I would never have thought of using the freight elevators, " Rick smiled,
"Well, as much as I want to take credit for it, it was Mike, your head of security's idea. He's not worried about the fans; he's worried about the crazies out there that might think the movie is about real people. He did find out that Senator and Governor are at the Wyndham Hotel so he had a few hints dropped and it chased some of the press away." She smiled; "I wonder where he found out that sensitive information Rick?"
"I have no idea of what you're talking about," Rick deadpanned as he looked out the window with a huge smile.
"How are the cast making out Eva, any word from them yet?" Rick asked,
"Yes, the chartered jet just landed, they are deplaning and will be here within the hour, as soon as the drivers have some fun with the few paparazzi still left trying to chase them" she laughed,
Rick had rented the entire floor of the Penthouse for the main cast, crew, and support personnel, he had even reserved the floor below, for banquet rooms and some housing in case they were needed. The Four Seasons management was more than willing to give him anything he wanted since the after party of the movie premiere was being held at their hotel, quite an accomplishment to beat out the surrounding hotels for this event.
"Eva, can you set up a cast dinner, you know that includes everyone for 9:00 PM tonight in the Chelsea Room, 8th floor, this may be the last opportunity we get to have a casual meal together before the world goes crazy. If the film is half as successful as they are predicting, every cast member's life is going to change." Rick said,
XxX
Chelsea Room
9:00 PM
Rick dinged on his glass to get everyone's attention, and instantly there was silence in the room. "How come that only works for people I pay, and not family?" he joked, as laughter broke out, he allowed the room to go quiet again,
"Seriously we have two days, until the premiere, or as I would like to say the world gets to witness the talent of all of you. I want to thank each of you for your dedication to the film, and for making this project one that was fun to come to work on every day.
"With that said, I'm happy to announce that we have reached an agreement with Lion Gate, we will be filming the second film of the Niki Heat series, but we will be allowing each of you a 60-day break before we even begin to schedule table reads or auditions for any changes or cast adjustments. I'm happy to say that our entire cast is under contract, everyone, so we will only be auditioning for additional characters that will be needed.
"I'd like each of you to enjoy the next two days, take the normal precaution if you venture out, Mike, my head of security, raise your hand Mike, (the big guy built like a brick outhouse raised his hand) will be happy to provide any security needs you may have.
"Many of you are from New York, if you'd like to visit with family or friends, we have the entire 8th floor available for guest rooms, just see Maurice, the gentleman in the back, next to Mike, and he'll get them situated. It's just our way of saying Thank You to all of you for a great job.
"One more announcement before we get to eat, Roy Reith, come up here please" Rick looked over the room, as he saw Roy trying to sleek down,
"Roy, I see you, come on you get your tail up here", as he finally rose and walked to the front of the room,
"Keeping to the promise that we won't keep secrets or force you to learn of changes to your team from a trade magazine, we are happy to announce that Roy has accepted the position of Lead Screenplay writer. Boy, his first assignment is a doozy, convert Naked Heat from book to screenplay." Rick barely finished before the room was filled with applause, Roy blushed,
"Go ahead, take a bow Roy, you've taken enough hits the last few years. Now we're having fun, let's all have fun, so that's it for the announcements, once again, a very heartfelt thank you from all of us, Eva, myself, and all at Black Pawn as well. I'm not concerned where we wind up in box office numbers, to me we've already won, we turned out a damn good picture show and stayed true to its source.
"Now enjoy, and we'll see you at the premiere in two days," Rick said as he turned and left the microphone to return to the table, he, Gina, Paula, Eva, and Ellie Monroe shared. As he sat down, he could see that Ellie was hesitant about asking something,
"Ellie, I don't want to put you on the spot but is there something you wanted to ask me, Eva, or someone?" Rick prodded,
"Rick, were you serious about family, I mean staying here? I mean my Mom and Dad live less than 45 minutes from here, and well, I haven't seen them in such a long time,"
Eva jumped in, "Ellie write down your address, and the full names of your mom and your dad, I'll take care of the registration, Rick would you contact your driver? You just have to let us know what time to pick them up?" Eva smiled,
"I'll handle the driver, no problem, as Eva said, you call your parents, ask then how soon we can pick them up?" Rick smiled, at the actress who was smiling, a tear falling from her right eye,
"Excuse me, I'll be right back," she replied, grabbing her phone and walking to a private corner of the room. A few minutes later she returned with the requested information,
"Mom said 45 minutes, Dad said 20 minutes, so if they haven't changed, give Mom an hour," she laughed as Rick called his driver, and said something low, and then hung up. Eva had already made the registrations, and since Ellie's parent's real name was Monrow, it didn't need to be changed on the reservation.
"It's done Ellie, let us know if they need anything while they stay," Rick smiled,
She rushed over to him, kissed him quickly on the lips, and then hugged Eva, "Thank you both, this isn't a job, it really isn't this is family. They can't wait to meet you all, so thanks" she said then returned to her chair.
"Ellie you better eat dear, I know that you're excited, but we can't have you getting sick on us" Eva fussed over her. Rick smiled, this group had turned into almost family, well a hell of a lot closer than he had ever known outside of a few select blood relatives.
TBC