AN: Thank you for all the follows, favorites and reviews for this story! I really appreciate them!
Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.
Kate forces herself to walk back into the club, plastering a smile on her face as she approaches Maddie. When questioned, Kate just gives a lame excuse of Alex having to go home. Honestly, she's still baffled by his behavior.
In an attempt to take her mind off things, she goads Maddie into dancing with her. Just the two of them. No more guys for her tonight. No way.
The hours pass and after a few drinks, the brunette finds herself slowly forgetting about the blue eyed man. Soon, the clock rings midnight and she cheers with the rest of the crowd, all of them looking forward to another year.
"I had a blast tonight, Becks," Maddie slurs on the cab ride home. She never could hold her liquor quite as well as Kate could.
"Me too," Kate murmurs, gazing at her beaming friend.
"I've missed you so much! We should do it again."
"Yeah, we should."
Kate examines her friend, her chest clenching. She really should keep in better touch with her. Phones do exist for a reason.
The two talk for a while longer before Maddie is dropped off at her home. Kate watches as the young woman stumbles up the stoop, knowing the blonde's parents won't mind if their daughter comes in late. Kate figures her own parents are probably asleep.
The brunette arrives at her own home, carefully unlocking the door so as not to wake the older Becketts. However, when she enters the kitchen, she finds that the precaution wasn't necessary.
"Mom?" she asks, the sight of the matriarch standing in the kitchen, still in her work clothes, catching her off guard.
"Hey, Katie," she greets with a smile. Raising a small wine glass, she states, "Happy New Year!"
Chuckling, the younger Beckett walks over to the sink, deciding on a glass of water. She's not drunk by any means, but she'd rather not have a headache in the morning.
"Did you just get in?" Kate asks. Her mom's worked late before, but not this late.
"Yeah, just had to wrap some things up at the office."
"This late?"
Her mother shrugs. "Yeah, just part of the case I'm working on."
"The one you won't tell Dad and I about."
The older Beckett rolls her eyes. "All good things come to those who wait." Waving a dismissive hand, she continues, "Anyway, I was thinking we could go to dinner next week right before you go back to school. Sort of a belated New Year's slash good bye dinner."
"Sounds good to me," Kate mumbles. Hopefully, her mother doesn't get stuck in the office and miss the reservation, again. "I'm gonna head to bed. Happy New Year, Mom." She plants a kiss on her mother's cheek before heading upstairs and crawls under the covers.
She finds herself dreaming of the cerulean eyed man again.
Due to some bitterness, and a slight hangover, Kate doesn't go to the coffee shop the next morning. She ignores the guilt that gnaws at her, even though Alex did seem genuinely apologetic last night. Instead, she stays in and hangs out, cleaning her room and double checking what books she'll need for the next semester. So far, non of the professors put assignments up, so that's one less hassle for her.
She phones Maddie and is glad to hear her friend awake, and clearly nursing a hangover. They agree to meet up again at some point, but it might be when Kate returns home for the summer. Regardless, Kate vows to spend more time with her friend.
Dinner is a quiet affair, the Beckett family discussing menial things as they consume some heated Christmas leftovers. Kate and her mother lay on the choice, watching some silly Hallmark movie while her father reads the paper.
Everything is perfect and Kate hopes it stays that way.
The next morning she arrives at the coffee shop and spots Alex sitting at their usual counter.
"Hey," she greets shyly, taking a seat. Her lips turn upward when she notices the cup in front of her.
"Hey," he starts, tossing her a lopsided smile. "Look, about the other night..."
She waves her hand, shrugging. "It's fine. We can just forget about it." She's pretty much forgiven him, and ordering her favorite drink doesn't hurt either.
He nods. "Okay, we can do that." His eyes twinkle, his face crinkling in the way that she finds adorable, letting her know that they truly are okay.
They chatter about nonsensical things for a while before doing their usual routine of dropping her off at home. He waves goodbye as she heads up the steps and she feels everything is back to normal.
Unfortunately, the feeling doesn't last.
Later that night, after dinner, as Kate steps out of the shower, she hears shouting coming from her parents room. Concern fills her as she wanders down the hallway toward their bedroom. Her parents have fought over the years, sure, but shouting? Never.
As she approaches the room, she hears her father say, "It's not safe, Jo. You've already gotten one threat."
Threat? Her stomach sinks at the thought of her mother in danger.
"I told you, Jim, I'm almost done with the case. I just need a few more weeks."
"I think you need to drop this. Give it to someone else at the firm," her father takes on a pleading tone.
"No, I'm not going to!"
"What if you get hurt?" her father begs.
"I won't," her mother promises. However, Kate isn't the least bit convinced by her tone and neither is her father.
"You don't know that!"
"Look, I'm not going to discuss this anymore with you. What's done is done. Whatever happens, I'll take it in stride."
As her father's lets out a frustrated groan, Kate backs away and heads back to her room. This is so not good.
Her parents don't leave their room for the rest of the night and the house is eerily quiet. It's not pleasant.
What the hell is her mother doing?
She arrives at the coffee shop the next morning, still feeling a little bit uneasy. Both of her parents left in the morning, quickly saying goodbye to each other without looking at the other as they headed out the door.
"Everything okay?" Alex prods, seeing the worried expression on her face.
"I don't know." She sighs, shaking her head.
"Wanna talk about it?"
She hesitates for a moment, contemplating on whether or not to tell him. After a second, she figures the details are vague enough that she can spill without giving stuff away. So, she relays the previous night to him, and he listens intently, hanging on her every word.
"Your mom sounds stubborn, and strong," he adds once she's finished her tale.
"Yeah, apparently I get that from her," she grumbles. She purses her lips, shoulders dropping as she says, "I'm just worried, ya know?"
"I hear you," he agrees, sympathy coloring his tone. "Hopefully whatever it is that's going on with her will end soon. Want me to talk to her? I can't be pretty convincing." He winks, lips forming into a small smile.
A soft chuckle escapes her lips. "No, that's fine. Thanks for the offer though."
They part ways in their usual fashion, but Kate swears she sees his hand reach for hers before forcing it to his side. Why does he feel the need to restrain himself?
She longs to ask him, craves the answers, but knows he probably won't tell her anything. Maybe it's because of his mom and he doesn't want a relationship while she's sick. Yeah, that could be it.
She hopes that's it.
The rest of the week goes by smoothly, both of her parents speaking to each other and showing their usual affections the next day. Whatever discussion they had has cleared the air between them.
Meanwhile, she and Maddie arrange to hang out the same day Kate and her parents plan to go to dinner. Kate figures she can spend a few hours with Maddie before walking to the restaurant, which is not far from Maddie's, to meet her parents.
The morning of, the brunette arrives at the shop, as per usual. As she glances around, she notices Alex is at their regular spot, but something seems off. Approaching him, she notes he appears on edge, his expression confused, eyebrows scrunched in thought.
"You okay?" she asks gently.
"No, not really," he admits, staring at the cup in front of him.
"Is it your mom?" she prods.
"No, no, she's fine. Being her lively self as always." Sighing, he turns to her, eyes full of uncertainty. "It's just...I got a job."
"That's great, Alex!" she starts, but he shakes his head. "What's wrong?"
"I'm not sure I can do it."
Frowning, she takes his hand in hers, ignoring the shock coloring his face.
"I realize we haven't known each other long, but I'm sure you'll do great at whatever it is."
"I'm sure I'll do a great job," he huffs, running a hand through his hair. "I just don't know if it's the right thing to do." Relasing his hand from her grasp, he takes a sip of his drink.
"Well, I'm sure you'll make the right decision," she supplies. "And just so you know, you have my support, for whatever it is that you're looking to do."
"Thank you," he murmurs, his gaze steady. "You know, I'm going to miss you when you leave."
Heat rises in her cheeks as she ducks her head. "I'll miss you, too."
They share a small smile before she gets up to leave.
"See you tomorrow?" she offers.
"See you tomorrow."
"Come on Kate, ask him out," her best friend begs.
She and Maddie lay on her friend's purple comforter, just talking, Maddie catching up on the whole Alex ordeal.
"I don't know. He doesn't seem to want anything right now."
The blonde releases an un lady like snort. "He might just need a little push, that's all."
Closing her eyes, the brunette sighs. "I don't know, his mom is sick and he's trying to start a new job. The last he needs is to start a new relationship with someone." She shrugs, sitting up against the headboard. No wanting to linger on the issue longer, she switches topics. "So, how's the culinary school thing going?"
Maddie's smile turns into a full on grin. "Great, actually. I put in applications for a few schools, just hoping to get some more in the next few weeks."
"That's fantastic! I'm really proud of you, Maddie." The thought of Maddie going and pursuing what seems to be her dream fills Kate with unending happiness for her long time friend.
"Thanks. I'm just glad my parents approve. They were skeptical at first, but the idea seems to have grown on them."
"Good." Glancing at the alarm clock on the night stand, Kate pouts. "Looks like it's time for me to go."
Her friend returns the sentiment, wrapping her into a fierce hug.
"Don't be a stranger, okay?"
"I won't, I promise," Kate answers as they walk to the door. As Maddie opens the front door, the winter wind hits them, causing the girls to shiver.
"Guess I better run," Kate jokes, pulling on her coat.
She gives her friend one last hug before heading out to the direction of the restaurant. It's a only a few blocks, so she can walk it.
As she trots down the street, the brunette contemplates on what her friend had said. Would it really be that easy? Just ask Alex out on a date? He had made it clear that he couldn't do anything. However, maybe Maddie is right and he just needs a little encouragement. Hmm. She'll find out tomorrow morning.
As she passes an alleyway, she hears something inside, making her stop. She peers into the darkness, approaches the entrance, then shakes her head, figuring it's a cat or some other animal.
Just as she begins to move away, a hand grasps her arm and pulls her inside, forcing her back against the wall. Before she can scream, a wet, sweet-smelling cloth covers her face, while an arm presses her into the brick.
She struggles fiercely, kicking her legs, her hands attempting to drag the heavy arm away, nails digging into her assaulter's skin as she does so. During her fight, her glance moves upwards, eyes widening as she stares into two very familiar blue irises.
As her mind grows foggy, tears prick her eyes as her brain registers the figure in front of her.
"I'm sorry," he says, his solemn gaze almost convincing her that he means it.
It's the last thing she hears before she drifts into unconsciousness.