ALL'S NOT FAIR IN LOVE
Chapter 3 - Executing The Plan
Javi finds himself on the Robbery floor where he is looking for Tom Demming. Tom sees him first and then calls out.
"Espo, to what do I owe your presence on my floor?"
"Hey bro, remember that case you worked with us just before that last summer."
"I'm trying to forget about that one."
"Oh, no, I'm not trying to bring up bad memories, it's just that someone spilled coffee on your case report and we need a good copy."
"Not a problem Javi, I can print you out a copy."
As Tom Demming calls his file up on his computer to print out a copy, they engage in small talk.
Then Tom says trying to appear nonchalant, "So how are Beckett and Castle doing?"
'Gotta ya', thinks Espo, now he needs to pull Tom in.
"Oh, you haven't heard, and you are not hearing this from me, a new boy friend picked her up at the station the other day. His name is Josh and none of us know anything about him."
"Really", Tom says sounding surprised as he hands Javi a copy of his case report.
"Yeah, we had not a clue and even Lanie didn't know about it. Beckett played it close to her vest on this one", Javi says and knows that Tom will bite.
"I thought Kate and Castle were solid myself, bro", Tom replies, "looks like they were not. How's writer monkey taking being replaced with a new guy by Kate."
"Your guess is as good as mine on that one bro."
Espo takes the copy and heads out , but notices Tom pulling out his cell phone and texting a message. When he returns to Homicide, he sees Castle in his chair looking at his phone, but there is no Kate.
Good! It was going according to plan.
"Hey Castle", he says, "where's Beckett?"
"Oh, yeah, she got a call from Lanie to go to the morgue on some case forensics."
"Well,ok, saw you on your cell before I asked about Kate. Did I break up a call from Alexis? I'm sorry, if I did."
"No, actually it's a text from Demming that I can't make sense of."
"What's it say?"
"Heard about Kate, welcome to Kate's Broken Hearts Club", he shows Espo the text, "What's that about?", Castle has a perplexed look on his face.
"You know she broke up with Demming just before you went to the Hamptons. She did that because she wanted to take you up on your invite."
Castle face changes from perplexed to surprised and that shows his reaction.
As the significance of what Espo has said sinks in, Rick realizes what had happened back then.
"And then I show up with Gina. Damn what a fool I've been! I only invited Gina when she said she could help me finish my novel by staying the summer to work with me on it. I didn't want to be alone there for that weekend, let alone the summer, especially after Kate had said 'no' several times when I kept bringing it up."
"Kate thought you were taking Gina there in her place back then."
"So I miss my chance with Kate! How bad could my timing be on this one, really just way off the beat."
"So what are you going to do about it?"
"What can I do? She is with this guy, Josh, now."
"No bro, don't take that path. You did that with Demming. See where it got you. Don't do it again with Josh. Fight for her!"
"But anything I do about it, she will think I am trying to interfere."
"Look, here's a suggestion. Show her the text from Demming and force her to confront what happened last summer and come clean about it. Man up on this one Castle. I know you want a re-do with her and this gives you a chance, take it."
As Castle considers Espo's recommendation, the elevator rings on their floor and Kate exits it.
"There she is. Remember we never had this talk. Let her think Demming let the cat out of the bag."
With that Espo returns to his desk.
Kate comes up to her desk holding a ME report.
"Here's the latest forensics on the case, care to read it?"
"Oh, yeah, thanks Beckett. I'll read thru it and we can discuss later."
"Saw Espo talking to you, he come up with anything new?"
"No, he was looking for you so he could tell you that they are still checking that info you wanted on our vic."
"Oh, I didn't think getting that would be a problem."
"No problem, they just wanted to tell you it would take more time to find the right records you need. Apparently they had more records to go thru than they first thought."
"...Kay, anything else come up?"
"No, but I did get this cryptic message from Demming. It made no sense to me."
"Really, Demming! Let me see the message", Kate wonders what her ex was asking of Rick.
Rick pulls out his cell phone and brings the message to his screen and then shows it to Beckett.
"What the...", she reacts, "damn word gets around fast. That is why I had not told anyone about Josh, even Lanie. The gossip mill is now starting up."
"Ok, but what's this message saying", Rick asks, trying to draw Kate out so she can explain the events from that past Memorial Day weekend that caused Rick to leave for the summer.
"Castle", she speaks trying to keep calm, "I broke up with Demming just before you left for that weekend last Memorial Day".
There is a long pause.
"I didn't know about that Kate."
"I know you didn't. I broke up with Tom because I realized I'd rather be with you that weekend at the Hamptons, than with Tom on the Jersey shore. I knew Tom was not what I wanted. What I wanted was you for that weekend."
"And then I ruin it by showing up with Gina."
"Castle, it wasn't all your fault. I had said 'no' several times and by the time I came to my senses, you had replaced me.
"No one could replace you Kate. It only happened like that with Gina because I was hurting from your rejections and became an easy target for her. She used the unfinished novel as an excuse to get me alone for the whole summer. She wanted back in but it did not work out. After a week we were fighting again. So she left for the city, returning every now and then to check my work. Had it not been for that, the novel would not have been completed. My mind was not in it, but the writing was a good distraction."
"A distraction from what?"
"Thinking of you and how I wanted you there."
There is what seemed like an even longer pause than the previous one until Kate confesses and comes clean about the event.
"I too was miserable that summer thinking you had left me because I was not up front on how I felt about you. Then I found Josh and he too gave me a distraction from all those feelings about you that I was experiencing."
"A distraction that now has become serious?", Rick's tone of voice saying that he needed a confirmation on his thinking.
"Something like that, but not that serious. We have not slept together yet."
"I was not asking Kate."
"Yes, I know, you were not asking quite loudly."
"So where does this leave us?"
"I don't know. I need time to consider what you have disclosed to me. I mean, I do have feelings for you Rick, but after this summer, I had tried so hard to put them away. Now you tell me that the feeling is mutual, and it comes at a bad moment. Josh and I have a recent commitment to date and see where it will lead. I need to resolve that agreement first, I just wish I had known all this before I met Josh."
"Look Kate, my timing is terrible here. I did not say anything back then because I feared you might take it as my way of trying to interfere with you and Demming. So I understand where you are coming from on this. I am not pushing but I hope I'm not too late. I want you to know this, I am here for you no matter what the outcome may be. If, however, it is in the stars, I want my chance with you. I want to see where we can go with us. All I care about is your happiness, with or without me."
"Wow, I never thought I would be having this kind of talk with you! I do have feelings for you Rick, but right now those emotions are going all over the place. For now, just be my friend. I mean you are already that, but as for the present, be my best male friend. Let me work this out."
"Always Kate, I'm here for you."
Rick knows that Kate must make up her own mind. No one can push her on that. He realizes that he must support her and be there for her regardless the outcome with Josh. He will take a passive-aggressive approach with her, he will give her space. He will let her decide in her own way. However, he wants his presence and support as a constant reminder to Kate that he has great affection for her; affections that go deep!
They return to their routine, but the tension in the air between them is high. Kate feels Rick's presence even more now after he had revealed his true feelings for her. Last summer, she would have fallen to him, but she now had a whole summer of trying to bury her feelings for Rick. Then there was also Josh, now in her life. This was getting complicated.
When Castle leaves for a break, Kate dials Lanie and asks to see her best female friend for a girl talk that same evening.
Girl Talk
"Damn Girl, your love life resembles a tele-nobela on the Spanish channel. You have two hot men wanting you. I should have such problems."
They are drinking expensive wine and eating chocolate. Lanie had brought them realizing the talk would be heavy after the plan she and Espo came up with had happened according to script.
"Lanie, stop, I don't know what to do here."
"Girl, you are making this far too complicated and it is easy, which one do you want the most?"
"That's just it, I do not know. They are both good men and I can't choose?"
"Why do you have to choose. Why not stay the course and see which one treats you best. That's the one you commit to as a couple."
"But it's not fair to either one of them. Josh is pushing me to sleep with him, that is how serious he is. He wants to take a step to more physical intimacy, but I have been holding back. Sex with him could just make it so much more complicated. Rick is being patient and not pushing, but he has professed his feelings for me and now it shows constantly when he is near. Rick is displaying such a restrain and patience that I never have seen before in him. Staying the course just might scare both of them off!"
"Really? So, why are you holding back from Josh. Could it be that subconsciously you are hoping to be with Castle? I know Castle does not want to leave you again. He came back after that disasterous summer. That man has been there for you thru your rekindled thing with Sorenson, then Demming, and now Josh. He is trying to stay on point right now. But how long can Castle stay in your orbit without crashing down? Here's the question though, are you sure about this thing with Josh? Is it a rebound?"
"A rebound from whom? I'm over Demming."
"What you aren't saying is if you are over Rick, and that is who the rebound is really about."
"That is ridiculous Lanie. Rick and I were never a romantic couple."
"Ahhh huh, but you want the two of you to be just that, and that's why you've been holding back with Josh. Here's a thought, you and Rick have been a professional work couple for three years now going on four. The closeness of a cop partnership is akin to that of a marriage, especially for opposite gender partners. The only thing missing with you and Castle is the sex!"
"Lanie, you are not being helpful!"
But Lanie's remarks ring true.
"Ok, be that way Girl, but you know you are into Castle far more than you are with Josh. You're in denial Kate."
There is a long pause. Long enough to allow Lanie a sip of her wine and a bite of her chocolate.
Then Kate speaks, "You think that's the situation here? But how can I be in denial with Rick when I told him I have feelings for him."
"You did not tell him back then when it would have counted. Now it is catch up. So it looks like you got no choice but to stay the course and see which one you want more."
"That would be unfair to both of them."
"Who said finding love had to be fair? Kate, you really are afraid of what staying the course will lead to... a tough choice! Time to put your big gal pants on and make the right decision here. Whatever it be, one of these men will be hurt, if not both. Although anyone who has ever seen you with Rick knows the truth; simply by seeing how the two of you react to one another when together. You do things for the other without being told, you answer each other's questions before it is asked, you come to the same conclusions on a case and finish each others sentence when you discuss them. Hell, he brings you coffee and a bear claw each morning. Those are signs Kate. So what are you really afraid of Kate?"
"That everything will come crashing down. It could sweep all three of us away."
"Well then, it is a matter of whether it is a Josh crash or a Rick crash. The question is how much damage either crash will it leave in it's wake. How much more can Rick take of you being with Josh? Rick is being incredibly patient here, but even he has his limits. How much more can his heart endure? He has his limits and you are stretching them. I think this situation is more unfair to Rick than to Josh."
"But you said you didn't think Rick would leave this time."
"Honey, he will be there for you despite, but how much damage before he gets his chance? Timing may be important here. Rick went thru this with Demming and he learned from that, but that does not mean he is immune from hurt. He will hold it in and be patient, but too long and you will break his heart again. It may be fatal this time around. The big difference now is you know where Rick is coming from and it should be given the proper consideration. You may have to make a decision to break up with Josh sooner rather than later or risk losing Rick."
They finish their wine and chocolates and then both retire to Kate's bed. It is a sleepover for Lanie and she had brought a bag for her next morning work clothes. All thru the night Kate tosses and turns. It is an uneasy sleep for Kate and Lanie knows she is dreaming about her situation. Then when Lanie hears Kate calling out Castle's name longingly, Lanie smiles. Kate had just confirmed through her subconscious mind, now in dream state, that Rick was the one. Now if only Kate could acknowledge that in her conscious moments; there might be a solution here to Kate's dilemma.