Alternative Route Taken

by Castlefan6

Authors Note: Another What If based on the episode, A Deadly Game, what happened if Rick didn't return to the precinct after leaving and this was really their last case. What would each other's lives have looked like? The story starts with Canon dialog, courtesy of Dust Jackets Dot Com, then goes quickly and completely AU. The journey continues with a new Kate and Rick, hope you enjoy!

I don't own Castle; I use the characters for amusement purposes only, except the ones I create.

A/N This may or may not end up as a Caskett fic, if that bothers you, please wait for updates to see which direction the story goes. Respectful comments are always welcome, trolls will be deleted.

Also, we may take liberties with the timeline from Canon and use events to make this a more believable fiction, thanks.

Previously

"Well, and I hate like hell to say this, but I have some T-shirts you will have to wear over your suits to prevent sunburn or Evelyn having your boss's ass for staring", he laughed,

Roy and LT were playing it safe and had already headed back towards the house, by the time Rick caught up with them.

"It's a good thing you and Gina aren't married anymore, she would have killed you for checking out those life rafts", Roy said smiling. "I could feel Evelyn's eyes on us and after 22 years you know when to walk away,"

"Well, married or not, she's still jealous, so I expect to get at least a little grief, that's OK, it just shows she still cares." Rick smiled,

"Man are you blind?" LT asked I don't know, nor do I want to, but if you ever envisioned one man two women, those two were more than hinting. Either one would take you in a heartbeat, Rick, be careful, Gina may have access to sharp knives, married or not

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Chapter 6

Saturday, May 23rd, 2:00 PM

Memorial Day Weekend

In Route to Upstate NY Cabin

Kates POV

Kate had almost forgotten the freedom she felt every time she rode her bike, the wind blowing on her face, and nothing in this world could compare to the sound of that Harley engine when she opened it up on the open road. She had made good time, but still had a little over two hours to go, careful of the speed limits since being a Cop, she was well aware of the increased radar setups, and how some small villages or towns survived off the revenue from fines courtesy of out of towners speeding.

Jim Beckett had purchased 6 acres of land when he was just out of law school, before he and Johanna married, and long before Katie made her appearance. He chose a small town, Geneva New York, about a five-hour trip from the city, and true to his promise, he built a cabin on the grounds.

He originally purchased it to be a place for him to slip away and fish in solitude, but when the family came around, the fishing shack was replaced with a beautiful three-bedroom Log Cabin, complete with running water and indoor toilets, something Johanna insisted on. The family had spent many summer nights, having fun, fishing and exploring the trails in the woods behind the cabin.

It had most of the comforts of the city except it was heated by a central stove, and had no air-conditioning. Jim had used it as his place of solace once he was off the alcohol and needed to getaway. Kate had only been back perhaps three times since her Mom passed, just too many memories for her. She thought as she rode, it would be nice to see the old place again and to walk the trails to her secret spots if they were still there.

She was cruising along, when two men in a blue pickup truck, apparently already having too much to drink buzzed by her very close, too close to be an accident. She decided to pull off under the underpass to let the jerks get far enough ahead of her to avoid confrontation. She knew the mood she was in; she might just shoot them if they came that close again, and she really didn't need that on top of everything that was going on in her life.

She stretched her legs, and pulled a cold bottle of water from the portable cooler on the back, drinking it down in almost one swig. Then she heard the sickening sound of metal against metal on the road ahead of her. She had little difficulty with the power of the Harley to get caught up to see what the damage was, and it was two bikes down on the side of the road, scrapes of blue paint clearly visible on both bikes,

One appeared to be worse than the other, she called out,

"Stay still, I'm getting help," as she quickly dialed and identified herself and her job title, asking for ambulances and police to BOLO for the blue pickup. She had caught all but the last digit of the license plate, why, hell it reminded her of what, make that who, she was trying to forget, RCK476 and the last number was blurred, the plate had been bent over.

She turned back to see if she could assist the riders, and was just getting off her bike when her cell phone rang, it was the Sheriff of the county.

"Detective Beckett, this is Sheriff Tom Posay, can you verify the license plate and color of the vehicle that hit the riders, and did you see it happen or did you just happen across it."

"Sheriff, I was almost hit by the blue Ford pickup truck, license plate RCK476 with the right corner bent up to obscure the last number, and no I didn't happen upon it, I heard the crash after they passed me. The bikes both have the same shade of blue paint, so I suggest you start the roadblocks ahead, there are only two roads they can turn off between here and Syracuse, "

"Begging your pardon Detective, how can you be sure it was the same color blue,"

"Let me interrupt you Sherriff, the next call you get is going to be from the Governor, you see, I am personal friends with the NYPD Commissioner who as you know is related, so unless you want to lose your Cush job, get off your ass and follow the proper protocol or I will have your badge. I take it you know who the two men are which will make you an accessory to attempted vehicular homicide if you don't get off your ass."

Click

Kate approached the two riders, both male, and good looking about her age.

"You guys OK, just don't move, I have an ambulance on the way, stay still please." She said,

"Thanks, I'm Josh Davidson, Doctor Josh Davidson, and this is my partner Doctor Paul Florene, I think I have a broken collarbone or I would shake your hand. Thanks for stopping and I heard part of the call, so you're a Detective or was that a ploy to get Barney Fife off his butt." He smiled

Kate thought, well he was cute, he could carry on a conversation and wasn't coming on strong, of course with the pain of the broken bone, maybe he was just on his best behavior.

"Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD, nice to meet you, Josh and Paul. Who got the worst of the hit?" she asked, looking at both Harley's all crumpled and smoking with a trail of broken glass. The blue paint was obvious that they had been rammed.

"Pleased to meet you, Kate, I'm Paul the quiet one, Josh does most of the talking but I got the first hit, then the idiot slowed and sideswiped us to be sure we both went down. I think my arm is broken, but like they say Doctors make the worst patients." He smiled a shy smile and Kate thought wow, a Doctor who isn't into himself,

"Well here comes the ambulance, here's my card, I've already called the Highway Patrol Investigation Unit so Sherriff Posay will be reporting to them, we'll be sure the two jerks that did this pay for it. Two guys in the same truck almost hit me a few minutes before they got you. Call me if you need anything" She handed her card to Paul, over Josh's outstretched hand, clearly indicating who she was more interested in. Paul took the card in his good hand, and smiled a shy smile, "Thanks Kate" he said quietly as Josh looked on in shock.

The EMT's had the two doctors loaded and on their way to the hospital as Kate briefed the Highway Patrol Unit about her near miss, the conversation with the Sherriff, and then her call to the Investigation Unit. They had blocked the scene off and were very careful to preserve all the evidence.

"You know Detective, the truck you described is similar if not the one owned by the Sherriff's cousin, we have a unit who just pulled them over, both drunk as a skunk and damage to the passenger side front, we'll let the forensics speak for themselves but would you testify if needed? It would probably be a deposition or perhaps remote, so you wouldn't have to miss time from your job."

"Of course, just let me know" Kate replied,

"We just got word on Dr. Davidson, and Dr. Florene, they are both going to be fine, well they won't be operating at Presbyterian Hospital in the city until the broken arm and collarbone are healed. Other than road rash they are fine, they got lucky and I'm glad they were both wearing helmets. Thanks again Detective,"

Kate continued on her trip, more conscious now of road safety and at a bit slower speed. She couldn't get the sight of the two mangled bikes, still smoking and the horrible sound of metal being crushed out of her mind. She arrived at the drive leading to the cabin and started to turn down until she saw two cars in the drive. What the hell? Then she saw it, her Dad and Shirley Jonas, one of her Mom's best friends, walking together by the little pond in the front of the cabin.

Shirley had lost her husband 6 years ago, and as far as she knew she and her Dad were just friends, what the hell was she doing spending the weekend with him. She killed the engine on her bike, then continued to watch from behind a tree, they were both skipping stones across the water, then he turned and they kissed, and it wasn't just a hi neighbor kiss.

What the hell was he doing, then she thought, it's been 12 years Kate, let it go. He deserves to be happy; you blew him off when you thought you would be going to the Hamptons with Tom, and you canceled the last what was it four, five Sunday brunches because of work. She knew this was a bad idea, first the bike crash, then her Dad, with another woman?

She turned and pushed her bike down the road about 200 yards, then started it and the ride home, alone. It seemed everyone had someone but her, and it was her own fault. She usually didn't ride the bike after dark, she knew it would be late when she got back to the city, but she couldn't, she wouldn't interrupt her Dad with whatever the hell he was doing. She knew that wasn't fair, he deserved to be happy too, it had been a long time for him to be lonely and she hadn't been the exact model of a daughter.

She arrived at the storage shed just before 8:00 PM with something else to add to her list, the headlight was still burning on the bike, but growing very weak, and needed to be replaced. She'd come back another time to fix it, for now, she just wanted to get home, and forget this awful day, forget Rick, and forget the sight of her Dad kissing someone other than her Mom.

Xx

Sunday, May 24th, 6:30 AM

Memorial Day Weekend

Hampton's Beach House

Rick's POV

Rick couldn't sleep, so he was up dressed and on the beach for his morning run. He had been running for several months, well in the city it was on the treadmill with pictures and sounds of the beach to motivate him. He had already dropped 12 pounds, and felt much better, he had worked his way up to 4 miles a day, two miles to the buoy and then back to his private beach. He slipped quietly from the house, just as the two housekeepers/cooks were quietly entering the kitchen preparing to cook breakfast for all his guests. When it came to parties, Rick didn't spare the expense.

He had his iPod on, earbuds firmly in place listening to some oldies, his running playlist, so to speak, and he didn't notice when suddenly to his right appeared a very trim and fit Ann Hastings matching him step for step. He removed his earbuds, and looked over,

"Good Morning Rick, I hope I'm not disturbing you; may I join your run this beautiful morning?" she asked smiling that killer smile,

"You're not interrupting anything Ann, be my guest you are welcome to join but you are probably far ahead of me in distance and time," he said,

"How far do you normally run Rick?" she asked still smiling, her eyes twinkling behind her sunglasses

"Well, normally two miles to the buoy then back home, it almost killed me the first few times, but I'm going to try to stretch it out a bit," he said smiling,

"Oh please not today, I'm lucky to get two miles in, and the only reason I do it is to keep from having to buy new clothes for work, God, you never noticed what a bunch of dirty old men Cops really are, I guess the men's pants and shirt hid that till I made Detective,"

Rick started to laugh, "Ann, the world is full of dirty old men, not only cops, but I know most of my gender are pigs, so that's why I try to go the other route. I was taught to treat women as ladies, even if they didn't act like it. I know I have a daughter and I worry about as you say those dirty old men as well." He was talking without losing any air,

"Well, Alexis was raised around a gentleman, she knows the difference and can spot a pig as you call them a mile away. Can I ask you a question Rick, you don't have to answer if you don't want to," she looked down at her feet as they continued to run?

"Let me guess Ann, you want to know if Gina and I are an item and are we sleeping together, Right? I mean everyone who sees us together automatically thinks the same thing, Well, they were married once, so why not sleep together, it's deeper than that for me so no, we love each other, not enough to remarry, and no we're not sleeping together. That answer the question," he laughed,

"She laughed, well that's great news, I'm sure Roz will put on her small bikini now when I tell her that, but I was going to ask, what does Beckett have that any of the rest of us don't Rick? You have to know by now that Roz, myself and more than a handful of women on patrol would be more than happy to spend time or do whatever you want. Are you really going away Rick? You don't have to, believe me, even if it's not me you want, I swear you'll have your choice of companions, just don't leave, please?" Rick could hear the tears in her voice,

"Ann, don't sell yourself short, there was a time you and I would have been behind that sand dune having mad passionate sex, but that's not what you really want, it's not what you deserve, don't settle Ann. You'll find him, just keep the heart open.

"As for Beckett, that's old news, and I am leaving in a few weeks, so it's all set. I'm sorry Ann, I'll miss you, Roz the guys, but the price is too high to pay to stick around. You might want to go easy on Officer Dana Fryer, I have it from good sources he worships the ground you walk on, why not give him a chance Ann." Rick turned the tables,

"Rick, you have to be mistaken, he doesn't know I exist, I mean I think he's really cute and nice, but how do I get him to notice me?" she asked,

"Stop gawking at me or other men you really don't want, you only think you do, and who says he has to ask you out, it's a woman's prerogative these days isn't it."

He saw the smile come back, "I'll text you his number when we get back to the house and I shower, call him Ann, you won't be sorry. He's not a pig, he loves you already, so just be honest with him, don't lead him on, that's the worse thing anyone can endure"

"Rick, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for how she treated you, she's a fool, but hey she lost out on a great guy, and I promise I will be open with Dana. "She was silent,

"Race you to the steps" he jolted her with his arm and took off, Ann in hot pursuit but she couldn't catch him, till they hit the walk down cool off period.

"Thanks for letting me join you Rick, and for not taking what you wanted, you knew I was willing to give, but I should have known, whoever lands you for good is one lucky lady. Just know you're loved, OK?" as she kissed his cheek and headed up the stairs ahead of him.

Rick thought, wow, with that body and you said no, you do need to get away, then he knew he did the right thing. It wasn't lost on Gina and Alexis who watched from behind the curtain,

"See Alexis, it doesn't matter how many, how young or how hot the women are, your Dad is an admirable man, he won't take advantage of anyone, just remember to pick one like him when you start dating."

TBC