Love

Chapter 13

Rick was gone and the boxes in the living room had gone with him. Kate sighed and started her coffee maker. Her eyes opened wide in shocked realization. "COFFEE!"How could she have possibly forgotten her beloved coffee? But she had. She let her machine run, grabbed what she would need, and ran out of her apartment. The closest Starbucks was about to sell out. So long as it didn't cost her more than a couple thousand dollars since it was all she had left, save for a few twenty dollar bills.

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Kate was helping to load all the boxes into the taxi out in front of the Starbucks. She hadn't wiped them out, however, she'd made a big dent in what they had in stock. It did leave her with a problem, though. A lot of what they had were beans, not ground. She had a grinder but it was electric and she was betting there was no electricity onboard Rick's ship so she needed to find a manual grinder. That meant after dropping off all her boxes in her living room next to all the water containers, she'd be back out to look for a manual coffee bean grinder.

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She put her latest purchases down next to the boxes of coffee. Finding a grinder that wasn't electric hadn't turned out to be all that difficult. She'd purchased two just in case. They'd all looked very similar: a long metal case with a grinding wheel at the top. She'd also bought three cases of coffee filters. The grinders had only been twenty dollars each so her checking account hadn't taken that big of a hit. "Richard Castle, I need you." Kate watched him arrive instantly. It was as though he'd been waiting for her to summon him.

"Only the boxes. I remembered something that I couldn't live without. These are coffee beans, coffee bean grinders, and coffee filters. I just need hot water. We can make hot water, right?" She was dead if they couldn't. Well maybe not dead, dead, but she would certainly be suffering if she lived.

Rick simply smiled. "Yes." He started picking up the boxes.

Kate relaxed after that. "Tonight I'm telling all my friends that I'm leaving. Them and my dad." She still hadn't told her dad that she was dying.

"Do you want me to come with you? Just summon me." Rick said through the boxes in his arms.

She smiled and liked him just a bit more. It was sweet of him. It only reinforced her belief that he wasn't an evil demon. At least not when it came to her.

"No, I can handle it. Next time you can take me. I'm interested in seeing this ship of yours." He had mentioned sails and she knew nothing about sailing a ship. All she knew was that it had lots of space and was eighty feet long.

"I'll be waiting. Summon me when you need me." Rick vanished and left her looking at her apartment.

"I'll always need you," she whispered. She was pretty sure she loved him. The very idea had her chuckling softly. She was in love with a demon. Who would have thought?

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Kate stopped outside of the bar and took a deep breath. Her best friends were in there and she was certain that Lanie had told the guys. She was also certain that she wasn't leaving there without shedding still more tears.

She really wanted to trust that Castle's plan would work. It was just that his plan was based on magic. Real magic. He had proven that it did exist. She even had a potion on her that he had given her that she had yet to use. They had needed a large pool of water first. Her finding out she had advanced cancer had prevented her from using it.

Kate opened the door and went inside. She easily picked them out of the crowd. It was the three of them, plus one. The plus one was lovely with long, curly, blonde hair. Kate walked toward them and saw Lanie get up to greet her first. "How are you doing, Kate?" Lanie let go of her long enough to question her and look her over.

Kate tried to smile but failed. She handed over a set of keys to her apartment to Lanie, keeping one just in case. Inhaling then softly blowing out a breath, she replied, "Mostly pretty good, thanks, Lanie." Lanie sat down and Kate sat next to her.

Kevin introduced the pretty blonde. "This is my girlfriend, Jenny. Jenny, this is our boss, Kate Beckett."

Girlfriend. That was new, she thought. She was happy for Kevin, though. Kate reached out a hand. "Nice to meet you and I'm not their boss any longer."

Javi piped up, "You'll always be our boss."

Jenny shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you. Kevin's told me a lot about you."

"It's okay guys, you can talk about it. It's been long enough that it's sunk in." Kate didn't want to sit there with nothing to talk about when she was sure they all wanted to know everything.

Jenny immediately broke the ice. "I can't imagine being told what you were told. Did they say how long? I'm guessing it's too late for radiation and chemotherapy."

"It is," Kate replied. "And I have about three months, maybe less. Before that the pain will start to get intense."

"I still can't believe it. After all this time, it's not some perp, but a medical issue." Javi shook his head and took a drink of his beer, a big one. He was losing a close friend.

"Did they tell you where?" Jenny was full of questions. She was going to take what Kate told her and visit her doctor, first thing.

"Both breasts were first, I'm told. Then it metastasized to my pancreas, stomach, and other places." Kate still couldn't believe it. It seemed like it was everywhere and yet she didn't feel all that bad.

Lanie knew the symptoms right off. "That helps explain why you don't eat."

"I eat," Kate retorted. Even if Lanie was right. She hadn't really eaten all that much today. She just wasn't hungry. Even with all that food she'd bought, she hadn't eaten any of it. Right about then the waitress showed up to take her order. "Something strong. Guinness Stout," Kate told her. She returned with the bottle in just moments.

"So what are your plans?" Jenny was doing most of the talking. The others were still taking it hard and found it difficult to talk about.

Kate stuck with her original plan. Besides they would never believe her if she told them about Castle. "Paris is first. Spend a few days, buy a train pass, and go where I want to go. Maybe Hungary, Berlin, Vienna, then into Italy before flying out. I haven't really thought much beyond that. Maybe Turkey, definitely Kiev again. I liked it there. Eventually a beach somewhere warm. I, ah, haven't worked out where I want to be when…" Her voice trailed off. When it was time to die.

"Kate!" Jenny reached across for her hands just as Lanie wrapped an arm around her.

"I won't be able to see it all, but I'll see what I can. What else is there?" Nothing except to pray that Castle was telling the truth. The possibility that he was using her was something she didn't want to think about.

Kate drank half of her beer in one big swallow and put it down. "How goes the case?" Had they caught the asshole?

"He stopped at three and disappeared again. We've got nothin'. Even the FBI came in again. They were missing one of their own, but they sent a team," Kevin said.

"They took over the entire floor." Javi still didn't like them there.

Kevin rolled his eyes. "It was just one room, Javi."

"One room too many." Javi finished his beer and called for another.

"Captain Montgomery's beside himself. He was on the last task force and didn't catch him. He was involved in this one and still didn't catch him," Kevin explained.

"Three lovely blonde women. Kevin's been practically living in my apartment. He won't let me go anywhere alone and calls me constantly," Jenny complained.

"And until he's caught I still will. You're just what he's looking for," Kevin insisted. Jenny found it endearing that he cared so much. She just didn't want to be smothered by him.

Kate wanted to ask questions and get involved, but knew she shouldn't. She had made her choice for good or ill. It was only then that it hit her – she was never going to solve her mother's murder.

"What's wrong, Kate?" Lanie had been watching her and saw that look.

Kate was all set to say, "It's nothing," but that was what she always said and she was never going to see them again, unless something changed. "I was just thinking that I'll never solve my mother's case. The bastard's going to get away with it." She'd made a life change because of her mother's murder; now she was making another because she was going to die.

"Oh, Kate." Lanie hugged her a little tighter.

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Javi wasn't letting her down, not now, not ever.

Kevin added his support. "We'll keep looking, Beckett. Count on it."

"Thanks, guys. I wish you luck." Kate felt tears starting, this time for a different reason.

Lanie changed the subject. "What did your dad say?"

"I haven't told him yet. He knows I'm going away on a trip, just not why. He's next tomorrow." Kate was sure it was going to hurt. Hurt both of them.

"We'll watch him, Beckett," Javi promised. He meant watch him to make sure he didn't start drinking again.

"Thanks, Javi." She glanced around the table, her gaze touching each of them. "You've all been such good friends. I'm going to miss you." Even if she did survive this she was going to miss them.

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"Hi, Dad." Kate was dreading this meeting. But she was happy to see him.

"Katie! Come in, come in. What brings you by?" He'd seen her just last week, he thought. Maybe he was working too hard and was losing track of time.

"We need to talk. …I need to talk." Kate amended her statement and started wandering around the room. She was unsure how she was going to say this.

What Jim saw was a nervous daughter. She obviously had something important to say and he started to worry that it was something bad.

"Coffee? I'm not sure I have the good stuff, but it's enough for me." His daughter drank something he wasn't sure could be called coffee.

"No thanks, I've had more than enough. …You should sit down." Kate wasn't just wandering around the room, she was wringing her hands.

Jim had noticed all of it and being told to sit had him really worried now. Still he sat down. "What's going on, Katie? Have you changed your mind about your trip?" It was all he had to go on. However, she looked far too nervous for it to be that.

Kate decided on the rip-it-off technique. "I have cancer, Dad. It's terminal."

Jim sat there in stunned silence. He'd heard her but was too shocked to say anything. It was a word he didn't want to ever hear from her. She was his baby girl; she was too young to have cancer.

"Say something, please," she begged. He was too quiet and it was getting to her.

Jim swallowed hard. "Cancer. Where and how long have you known?"

She stared at the floor unable to meet his eyes. "It started in both breasts. Then it metastasized to my pancreas, my stomach, and other areas. As for how long, I've known for about a week, I guess."

Jim was still struggling with the news. A week told him that she'd known the last time they'd talked. He wasn't angry about it. It was just a lot to accept. "It's why you decided to leave work and go on a trip. How…" His voice broke as he fought his tears. "How long?" It was a question that had his tears starting.

"About three months, more or less," she said and waited.

He felt his chest tighten. His daughter was going to die somewhere around her birthday. The timing couldn't have been any worse. "What about radiation and chemo?" There had to be something.

She shook her head. "Three months of radiation and chemo might extend the time to eight months. Three months filled with pain from the radiation treatments and chemo." She started shaking her head again. In her mind enduring that wasn't worth the extra time. If maybe they could have said three years or longer she might have made a different decision. But they hadn't. Three months of pain was only buying her five months. It wasn't enough.

"It's not enough, Dad. Not an option. …I'm sorry." She was sorry he didn't like her choice.

"Cancer…three months." Jim couldn't think of anything else to do or say. He knew his daughter was headstrong, opinionated, and stubborn. She had made her choice and no one was changing it for her.

Jim got up and moved in to hug her. "Just come back before it's too late, Katie." Jim felt his tears starting this time. Kate could hear him crying and it had her crying yet again.

"I'll try, Dad, I'll really try." That included if Castle's plan worked and they found a way.

"Say hi to your mother for me if you see her." Jim let his tears fall. That was too much for Kate; she broke down into body-shaking sobs. If she did die, would she get to see her mom?

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"I expect post cards from where you go. Tell me where you are and how you're doing. Call if you get a chance. Reverse the charges, I'll pay anything," Jim said at the door.

"I'll do what I can." Kate hugged him again. "The guys have promised to check in from time to time. You won't be alone. …Promise me you won't start drinking. Mom wouldn't have liked it then and I won't like it either."

"I've learned my lesson, Katie, I've learned my lesson. Take care and have fun." Jim did something he usually didn't and that was to kiss her cheek.

"I'll see you later, Dad. Please be safe." Kate kissed him and walked away.

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Kate had some odds and ends in a small carry-on bag. She was wearing the only clothes she had left in the apartment.

She walked through the apartment one last time and looked it over. She was probably never going to see it again. The containers of water were still in place. Castle had told her that there was a way to keep the tank full of water forever. "Magic, I'll bet." Kate had shaken her head. She'd a lot to learn.

"Now or never." Kate took a deep breath. "Richard Castle, I need you." As always he just showed up right in front of her and looked like he always did. It was time to ask. "How do you do that?"

"Magic. It's something a number of demons can do. It's called a Gate spell. Nearly instantaneous travel. You won't feel a thing," Rick said.

Kate didn't believe him for a moment. "That's what my doctor says. She always lies."

"I'm a demon not a doctor," he teased and smiled widely. "Ready?"

"NOOO!" Rick hadn't waited and had Jumped them into the Astral Plane just outside of the asteroid field his ship was hiding in.

"AUGHH!" Kate grabbed hold of him and began kicking her legs. There was no floor to stand on. Except for a lot of rocks close by there was a whole lot of nothing.

"You're fine, relax," Rick said.

"THERE'S NO FLOOR!" Kate was still kicking her legs but started to slow down when she worked out that they weren't falling. In fact they weren't moving at all.

"Where are we? Is this the Astral Plane?" He'd said it was full of a whole lot of nothing and except for a bunch of rocks there wasn't much of anything.

"This is the Astral Plane. It doesn't work like your Plane. There really isn't an up and down. Actually you don't walk anywhere. You can walk, but walking isn't what has you moving. Your mind is what moves you. There also isn't any gravity as you know it."

She really had to experience it to believe it. That had her looking all over, including at her clothes, and reaching for her hair. "But if there's no gravity my hair should be floating around like I was out in space and I'm breathing." It was totally weird.

"Gravity is in your mind. This way." Rick took her hand and started jogging, at least that was what it looked like to Kate. She jogged to keep up. Rick had yet to show her what he really looked like so instead of flying he ran.

They dodged rocks. Big rocks and little rocks. A whole lot of rocks. Some were close together while others were a lot farther apart.

"It's 3,720 to 1 to successfully navigate an asteroid field," Kate murmured to herself.

"What?" Rick hadn't caught much of it.

"Nothing, just something from a Star Wars movie. Never mind." Kate kept watching as they moved.

Then she caught sight of something which vanished behind a large rock. "Was that your ship?" She yanked on Castle to get him to go a different direction. One she thought might give her a view of it.

Rick pulled back and stayed on course. "We're almost there."

Then suddenly she was right on top of it. It was indeed at least eighty feet long. It had masts sticking out all over the place. It was a deep red and had a lot of golden accents. It was beautiful. There was a bow and a stern that looked a lot like one of the old English ships of the line. "Castle, are there masts coming out the bottom?" It had a keel but it also had masts sticking out the bottom.

"Yes, thirteen sails in all. She should be very fast." Since he had only ever pushed it around and never actually sailed it anywhere, he didn't really know how fast.

"Is that a tree in the middle?" It had a large trunk and a large green canopy right in the middle on the top side. It was a totally unique-looking ship. It was nothing like she'd pictured. Well, she had pictured sails, just not ones on the bottom of the ship. Rick took her down onto the deck where they landed not far from the tree. It was only then that he let go of her hand. That allowed Kate to walk over to the tree. Actually walk on the deck. She ran her hand over the trunk. "It's a real tree," she said in amazement. It was hard to believe that there was a big green tree growing on a ship.

"Come on, I'll show you the captain's cabin then give you a tour. It's where all of your clothes are." And what few clothes he had.

Kate followed him to the back of the ship where they walked through a door and into a hallway. She saw stairs leading up on either side of the door.

"Bathrooms on either side. This is the captain's cabin." Rick stopped at the door on the end to build up suspense then opened it and let her go first.

"OH-MY-GOD!" Kate felt her mouth fall open as her eyes opened wide. Rick preened. He was quite proud of all the work he had put in. The room was easily thirty feet deep, maybe fifteen feet wide, and fifteen feet tall not including the clerestories that added another few feet.

Kate saw shiny redwood floors. Darker wood walls. A wood ceiling with exposed wood beams. It looked like it had two clerestories that were each filled with windows. Way in the back was a wall of windows.

There was a huge bed of dark wood that had lovely antique red and white silk bedding. There was also a massive curved beam from one side to the other about half way down. It and the space between the windows had what looked like gold accents. Along with six chandeliers that were presently giving off light without flame or electricity. There was even a small table that could seat four people up against one side.

"It's gorgeous, Castle. Simply gorgeous. Maybe a little masculine, but gorgeous. This is you?" Kate turned to look at him and saw him grinning widely. She stepped up to him and kissed him deeply. "You've done well, Castle, really well." If the rest of the ship looked anything like this, she could like it here.

She glanced around. Where were all her clothes? "Where's the closet?" She watched him walk over to a panel; he pushed it and then pulled. "A secret room?" Kate walked over and looked inside. Her clothes were hanging just inside it. Then she watched him open a few more hidden panels. She saw more clothes and finally her shoes.

"You did this?" Kate saw him grinning widely yet again. "You're amazing." She kissed him again. "Did you leave room for your clothes?" She had even bought and brought with her another outfit he could wear.

Rick just pointed and Kate saw his meager amount of clothing hanging just inside the door. She resolved to figure out how to get him more clothing. She liked him naked, she truly did. But there were times when he would need to be clothed.

Kate dropped her bag. "Tour?" She really wanted to see the rest of this ship. So far it was amazing.