Chapter Fourteen:
The driver pulled in front of the hotel exactly at 2:00 pm. Traffic was relatively light because it was Sunday and they arrived at JFK a few minutes before 3:00 pm. Rick made his way through airport security and checked in at his departure gate only to find out that his flight has been delayed due to mechanical issues. At the moment that delay was only an hour.
Castle stopped in the lounge nearest his gate and sat down at a table nearest to walkway. The Giants were playing the Cowboys on TV and the place was filled with noises as the fans reacted to the outcome of each play. The waitress brought Rick his drink and he tried to watch the game on one of the monitors in the bar. The game ends at about the same time his flight was originally scheduled to leave. The channel was changed to one of the later games and Rick had no desire to watch.
Remembering that he hadn't checked his email in over a day, he pulls his laptop out of his travel bag and fires it up. The first two emails were from Paula and Gina, probably regarding his new contract. There was one from Alexis and one from an email address that he didn't recognize. Sure enough the messages from his agent and publisher were regarding his new contract. Neither required any action from him. He opened the message from Alexis, curious to hear how her time with Kate had went. He was hopeful that things went well.
He read the note from his daughter and was pleased to hear that things did go well. She talked about her dinner with Kate and their time shopping together. He was surprised to hear that Kate had spent the night at her place. What was more surprising was his daughter's seeming endorsement to at least give Kate a chance to explain why she did the things she did. He was happy to hear that she had been able to fix things somewhat with Alexis, but still had his doubts.
Rick quickly typed a response thanking her for entertaining Kate. He told her that he was returning to Key West after spending the weekend in New York and that he had met with Martha and Jim. He ended the note with a promise to see her over the holidays. He pauses before opening the next email, not knowing who it could be from but having his suspicions after reading Alexis' message. Sure enough the message was from Kate and for a split second, he considered trashing it without reading it, but his curiosity won out in the end.
Rick,
I'm not sure if you're reading this, but I can only hope you do. I've made mistakes in my life, some big and some small, but the single biggest mistake that I've made in my life was the night I left you without an explanation why. You deserved to know why, but my ego wouldn't let me. I was so convinced that I was doing something righteous that I ignored the fact that I was hurting the people that were important to me, especially you. I lied and hid behind half-truths to conduct my secret investigation.
I was so sure of myself that I was doing the right thing, I never considered what I was sacrificing for my quest. My friends, family, career, but most importantly my husband. I threw everything of value in my life away for my obsessions. You knew that I was broken the first time we met. You told me so and that scared me. But you never gave up on me even when you had no reason to.
I don't blame you for divorcing me and leaving like you did. I didn't give you a choice and if I was honest with myself, I was a terrible wife. You deserve someone that can love you the way you love them. The way you loved me. It's taken months of therapy for me to realize just how terribly I behaved. Dr Burke has helped me to see how I let my compulsive behavior ruin everything and I know that like an addict, I'll never be cured. Everyday is struggle, but this is what I need to do.
I know that I don't deserve it, but I'd love to have a chance to see you again. Maybe over a cup of coffee? There are so many things that I'd like to say to you. I've missed you so much. I love you. I'll always love you. You are my one and done.
Always,
Kate
Rick re-read the email over and over not trusting the emotions that he felt at the moment. Much like his fear of seeing her weakening his resolve, simply reading the email was having a similar effect. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dials Alexis' number. She answers on the third ring.
"Hey dad, where are you?"
"Sitting in a bar in JFK, waiting for my flight back to Miami... You know, the usual mechanical delays..."
"So what's up? Getting bored and thought that you'd call your daughter?" Alexis laughs to let him know that she's teasing.
"Pumpkin, you were with Kate for the last couple of days... How did things really go with you two?"
There was an extended pause before Alexis begins to speak. "It was a little awkward at first... She seemed to be scared of me... Afraid that I'd send her away. But then we talked about things... About how she was convinced that she was protecting us all by leaving you... By lying to all of us. She told me how much she missed you. How much she loves you and wants another chance..."
"Do you believe her?" Rick asks, hoping for the answer he wants to hear.
"I... I want to dad. I think that she believes what she says, but..."
He knows what his daughter was saying, and not saying. Kate had made promises before and broken them. "She sent me an email... She wants a chance to talk... I don't know if I can trust her..."
"What do you want to do dad?"
"I want to believe that she's telling the truth. That she's changed..."
"Then follow your heart dad... Give her a chance to explain herself... You know it's what you want..."
Rick considers his daughter's advice and makes his decision. "Thank you pumpkin. You've been a big help... I'll send her a reply and ask if we can meet when I return for the holidays..."
Alexis smiles hearing her father give Kate a chance. "Or, you could wait a couple of hours and see her in person when her plane lands..."
It was one thing to send an email and a totally different thing to see her face to face after all this time. Rick wasn't sure if he was ready to face her. 'What if she changed her mind and doesn't want to see me?' He questions himself. "Do you have her flight information?"
"Yeah, she's on United flight 22 from LAX, arriving at 9:20." Alexis replies. "Are you going to meet her?"
"I don't know pumpkin. I'm not sure what to do..."
"I know you'll do the right thing dad. I love you."
"I love you too pumpkin. You take care."
"You too dad." Alexis replies as the call ends.
Rick looks across the aisle at the arrival and departure board. He notices that his departure time has been delayed another hour and that Kate's flight was listed for an on time arrival. Castle signals to the waitress for another drink as his mind tries to weigh the pros and cons of his choices.
X-X-X-X
The pilot's announcement that they were making their final approach and would be on the ground in just a few minutes, woke Kate from her brief nap. She hadn't planned on it and normally she didn't sleep on planes, but for some reason she just felt at peace with herself. The dream was the same as it had been for more than a year now - her and Rick together with their child playing in the park. Sometimes the child was a boy, sometimes a girl, but in every dream the child had dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. They would walk with the child to their swings, where they would sit together and watch as their child played. It was a beautiful dream.
It was nearly thirty minutes later before the plane actually pulled into the gate. She was off the plane and down the ramp into the terminal in just a minute or so. The airport was packed with people trying to get either out on one of the remaining flights for the night or out of the place to get home. Kate had to check the extra bag full of things that she bought while with Alexis. She borrowed on of her bags and promised to leave it with Martha once she unpacked it. Beckett flowed with the other people who were also on their way to the baggage claim area in a sea of people.
Once in the baggage claim area, she scans to overhead monitors to see which carousel her luggage would be on. She never notices the man standing not far from her carousel. Beckett feels her phone vibrate in her jacket and pulls it from her pocket to see that her driver has arrived and is waiting for her at the exit. She types a quick reply to let him know that she has arrived and takes a spot a few feet away from the carousel. The blaring of the alarm notifying passengers that the belt is about to start captures all of her attention, as she intently eyes the moving luggage passing by. Kate spots Alexis' bag and moves close to intercept it as other passengers do also. Grabbing the handle of the bag, she yanks on it as quickly as she can nearly striking someone behind her.
"Looks like you could use some help with that..." The baritone voice that she would recognize anywhere comments. Convinced that she's hearing things, Kate quickly turns with the bag still in hand nearly striking him across his legs. The look on her face was priceless and he has to chuckle. "If you don't want to see me, just say so. You don't have to assault me with my daughter's luggage..." The smile on his face let's her know that he is just teasing.
Kate is rendered speechless by the sight of Rick standing before her. He looked so different yet the same. Her ex-husband looked younger and older at the same time. He'd lost weight and his skin looked like bronze. Castle looked nothing like the pictures that Lanie and Hayley had shown her only a week earlier. He looked like her Rick, but only better.
Seeing Kate rendered speechless by the sight of him made him feel both happy and sad. Happy to see her again and sad to know how much time they had wasted by deciding to be apart. She also looked the same yet different. She'd also lost weight and the dark circles under her eyes told him she wasn't sleeping like she should. Then he caught a glimpse of the last gift he bought for her on her wrist. The platinum bracelet with his promise of always to her. A reminder of how much he loved her.
"I read your email..." Rick pauses, not sure if he should ask the question that has stuck with him since he read it. "Did you mean what you said?"
"Every word of it..." Kate replies in a small, almost timid voice.
Rick closes the distance between the two of them. She was wearing flats for comfortable travel rather than he customary four inch heels and she seemed much smaller facing him. She looks up into his crystal blue eyes and can see the love that he still felt for her. He lowers his head and places a soft kiss on her lips. "I love you Katherine Houghton Beckett. I think I've always loved you..."
Kate takes her hands and places them on his neck, pulling his head down as she rises on her toes to give him a kiss of her own. One that lasted longer and conveyed her longing for him. They finally break from their kiss and Kate replies. "I love you Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle... You are my one and done and no one will ever compare to you... Without you in my life, I am lost..."
Rick could see the sincerity in her eyes as she spoke. He knew that she would forever hold his heart. The two stood there as all of the other travelers moved about around them, oblivious to everyone else. "I missed my flight and need to find a place to stay for the night..." Castle comments as he wraps his arms around her, holding her close to him.
"I've got this big empty loft... I'm sure we could find you someplace to sleep..." She replies as she kisses him again, this time her tongue demanding entrance in his mouth. Rick smiles as the two break their kiss and wraps on arm around her waist while the other snares her bag.
The two walk together without saying a word, happy to just be together again after all this time. Both knew that this was just the beginning, the first step towards becoming more. The synergy they seemed to share when they were together...
Kate smiled for what felt like the first time in over a year as they get into the limo waiting for her. "I believe I owe you a cup of coffee..."
AN: I've debated with the idea of either an epilogue, or a sequel. For the moment, I'll leave the two with a hopeful ending and let you decide what happens next...