THE PLAN

Chapter 8

Epilogue

One month later, late August.

"What are you up to?" Rick asked Kate.

Kate sighed. "Trying to select a college to attend. I have Yale, Stanford, Columbia, and New York University. Each has its good points. Take Yale, it has more than twenty clinics from which to choose. Stanford is ranked number two in the country, and Columbia is number four. New York University has more than thirty legal clinics. So I'm conflicted with which one to choose."

"Have you been to any of the campuses?" Rick inquired. "That might help you a little."

"No, I haven't." She looked up at him. "You think that might help?"

"Couldn't hurt. Let's see. New York University is close. So is Columbia. As for the others, that will take a plane and a hotel. Though Yale might be in driving range," Rick suggested.

Kate thought about it briefly. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look."

"Then let's go. New York University is first. After we get dressed," Rick told her because even now, they were naked.

~oo0oo~

"I don't know. It's like being in downtown Manhattan," Kate complained, not exactly happy with what she saw. "Though I would get to stay with you." She liked that part of it.

"Columbia University, here we come," Rick told her and flagged down a taxi.

~oo0oo~

Kate looked around. "This is better. It feels like a real campus."

"So we have a winner?" Rick asked.

"Maybe. I think I need to see Yale next, then try and figure out if I like Stanford better." She wasn't quite ready to make a firm decision just yet.

"That's up to you. It's your life, your choice, and I can't help you there."

"Would you move if I chose Stanford?" Kate asked as her heart gave an odd thump.

Rick shook his head. "No, my place is here in New York City. I'm sorry, but no."

"Oh." To say she didn't like his answer was an understatement, and she quickly changed the subject. "So, how do we reach Yale?"

~oo0oo~

It turned out that the way to reach Yale was to use a personal driver service. She found herself sitting in the back of a town car.

"Now, this is a campus," Kate said approvingly. "Too bad it's in Connecticut." It was too far to live with Castle and attend classes.

Rick took hold of her hand and stood still. "Don't let me stop you from attending the college you want. I don't want to be the one that stops your dream."

"But you're important to me," Kate told him.

"And you're important to me, Kate. That's why I don't want to be the one that comes between you and your dream. So if Stanford is your dream, you should go for it. I'll survive."

She swallowed hard and told him she'd think about it.

~oo0oo~

Kate felt like her insides were in knots. "Mom, I don't know what to do. Should I follow my dream and go to Stanford, or should I go to Columbia and be close to Castle? I don't want to lose him."

"I'm not sure I can help you, Katie. If Stanford is your dream, then you should do it," Johanna told her. "But answer me this. Do you love him? Love him enough to go to Columbia?"

"Yes, I love him. I love him a lot. But Stanford is my dream, even if I've never visited their campus. I don't know," Kate said as a tear slid down her cheek.

"Maybe he'll change his mind and go out there with you. Anything is possible," Joanna said. "But you need to be ready if he doesn't."

"Thanks, Mom. You're a big help." Actually, she was no help at all.

~oo0oo~

In the end, Kate chose Stanford. It meant leaving Castle, but he told her to chase her dream, and this was her dream.

At first, she called him every day. Then it was every other day. It dwindled to every week and then to every other week.

Finally, she returned home for the holidays because her mother had asked her to do so. She was going to miss a bit of school, but her mother had insisted.

Castle didn't answer his phone and didn't come to the door. She felt guilty about that and was in a funk.

So here she was, sitting in a restaurant with her dad, waiting for her mother to show up.

For Rick, this was why he was here. He hid in the shadows and was far ahead of whoever was supposed to kill her. The timing might be off, so he was there early.

He watched as she entered the alley and took pictures. Then she saw the man that was there to kill her. Johanna was stunned when she noticed he had a knife and even more so when she saw Rick step out of the shadows. He was just about ready to strike when Rick raised his weapon and put three needles in him, causing him to fall instantly. "Rick, what's…what's going on here?"

"He's here to kill you, Johanna, and I'm here to prevent it. You need to come with me. We need to leave now," Rick insisted.

~oo0oo~

They were at the Beckett home, and Rick still refused to explain himself. He would only talk once the others were there.

Eventually, Jim and Kate arrived and were taken aback to see Johanna here and not at the restaurant. Before they could question her, Rick stepped out of the dining room.

"Castle?" Kate was both shocked and happy to see him.

"I have something to tell you, and you need to keep an open mind." Rick raised a hand, stopping them from saying anything. "I'm from the future, and my mission here was to stop Johanna from being killed. I was scheduled to arrive on this date, but something went wrong, and I arrived on January 9, 1998 instead. A full year early."

Johanna stared at him. "The future?"

"I know how it sounds, but I really am from the future. My name is Richard Castle. The real Richard Castle, the author, is my great, great, great grandfather. I'm told I look just like him. Just a younger version."

"Bull!" Kate exclaimed.

"I figured you would say that, Kate. I don't expect you to believe me. I'm not sure I would if I was in your place," Rick said. "But I did save Johanna's life."

"That part is true; he did save my life," Johanna confirmed.

"What the hell, Mom?"

Rick kept his eyes on Kate. "I'll return to my time at midnight tonight. It was supposed to be like I was never here. But it didn't work out that way. I'm sorry."

"Bull, utter bull." Kate didn't believe any of it. He wasn't from the future, he couldn't be.

"Jo, what's going on?" Jim asked.

"I knew I was a target. I was working on a case that got me into trouble. It's true. I have a recording of where I'm supposed to be killed. I didn't think it would be tonight, though. I arranged for all of us to go into Witness Protection while the FBI investigated," she told them.

"Witness Protection. And you kept this from me?" Jim asked incredulously.

"Yes. I'm sorry, but I couldn't risk it. I just couldn't. I'm so sorry," Johanna said.

"Jo!" Jim didn't know what to say. "How could you keep this from me? I thought we were a team." He was hurt and angry.

"I don't know who was going to kill her, and I don't know who ordered it. I only know she was to be killed, and when and where. My mission was to prevent it," Rick explained.

There was silence, then Johanna spoke up. "I know who ordered it."

"Mom?" Kate didn't believe it. Any of it. But she trusted her mother, and she wanted to believe Castle, but what he was saying was science fiction.

"He's the Assistant DA," Johanna revealed. "There was an undercover FBI agent that ended up dead, and his murder was pinned on a man who's in prison. That's where I caught wind of it. Joseph Pulgotti is his name. He's a gangster who was at the wrong place at the wrong time and took the fall for it as a way to save himself."

Jim was livid. "Let me see if I got this right. You know who ordered you to be killed, and you did nothing?"

"Not totally nothing," she maintained. "I had some help. I just didn't think it would happen this fast."

"Thank God for that. But still, you should have told me, Jo. You should have told me."

Johanna could hear the anguish in his voice. "I'm sorry," she said again and lowered her head.

"I'll leave you now," Rick told them and turned to go.

"NO, STAY! You have to talk to Katie. Please," Johanna pleaded and saw him nod. "We'll leave you two alone." Johanna took Jim into the kitchen.

Rick stood there and waited for the inevitable. Kate rounded on him, her eyes blazing. "So you're from the future?" All he did was nod again. "You got me to love you, knowing full well that you were leaving."

"Yes, and I love you too. For what it's worth, I didn't plan for any of this to happen. I resisted it as best I could. But you're a force to be reckoned with, Kate, and I found myself falling in love with you."

"You love me?" Kate heard that much.

"I do, and I'm sorry. So very sorry."

Tears began to fill her eyes. "Sorry that you love me?"

"No, never that. I'm not sorry that I love you." Rick had to tell her even though it would hurt her. "I'm sorry I can't stay, and before you ask, I can't take you with me. That's just not how it works. They won't let me come back, either.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"I see." Kate felt her heart break into pieces. She had hoped he would stay or at least take her with him. Screw Stanford. She loved him. She knew she should never have left him. But now he was leaving her. She walked up to him and put her arms around him. And she felt his go around her. "Always remember that I love you."

"I love you too," Rick told her. "We're just doomed." He felt her cringe at that remark. He turned to face Jim and Johanna. "I have one minute left. I hope everything works out for you. I'm not really sure what Witness Protection is, but I wish you all the best."

Rick took Kate's hands in his. "I do love you, Kate. Never forget that. You reached my heart." Then just like that, he vanished. Kate broke down sobbing. She loved him and now he was gone forever.

~oo0oo~

It was a year later and Kate was back at Stanford. She was behind schedule, but her dream wasn't dead. She was sitting at her desk working on homework when the room phone rang. "I'll get it," she told her roommate. "Hello?"

"Kate Beckett? You have a guest down on the lobby. He refused to give his name."

"O-kay." Kate didn't understand, but before she could ask any questions, whoever it was, hung up.

She headed downstairs and entered the lobby. She saw someone who looked familiar, but it couldn't be him, could it? He said he couldn't come back. Then he turned around. "RICK!" Her heart skipped a beat, and she rushed over to him. Crying, she held him tight. She looked up at him while her tears continued down her cheeks. She had so many questions.

"They let me come back to you," Rick told her. "And I get to stay this time. I even have a new name."

Kate didn't care; she was just so glad he was here. She kissed him soundly and he kissed her in return.

"I have so much to tell you, Kate. Is there somewhere we can be alone?" She took him by the hand and led him outside into the warm air. "My name is Richard Rodgers now. I have $100,000,000 which should last a lifetime if we spend it wisely."

"Okay." Kate wiped away her tears. "Wait. Did you say a hundred million...dollars?"

Rick smiled at her and nodded. "Think that's enough?"

"Yeah, it's enough." And she kissed him. She had missed him terribly. "You're really here to stay?" Kate asked, her voice quavering.

"If you'll have me. If not, I'll go on my own…" Rick stopped talking when Kate kissed him.

"Now what?" she asked him.

He thought about it for a moment. "I'll need a place to live, and I have a lot of shopping to do. No doubt my old place is gone along with everything in it. Though it's possible this world's Richard Castle had something to do with it. I was Richard Castle, after all."

"I'll help. I want to help," Kate said eagerly. "Oh, and I need to tell my parents."

Rick brushed a lock of her hair back. "You'll have to tell me what happened after I left."

Kate nodded. "I can do that." She kissed him again. "I love you so much."

"Music to my ears, sweetheart." And he smiled at her.

~oo0oo~

Kate had almost four years until graduation and another four years of study. But at the moment, she was helping Rick find a place to live. They were looking at 463 North California Avenue, Palo Alto, California.

"I like it," Kate decided. "It's not too big, and it only costs three million. I can use my Harley to get to school, but rain could be a problem. The garage doesn't have an interior door leading out to it. It's kind of close to school. It has an outside area, and the only grass is out front.

"It even comes furnished," she added.

~oo0oo~

Kate walked down the long hallway naked and entered the living room, looking for Rick. She had to get used to his new name, but she would manage. Finally, she found him. He was naked and in the kitchen. Kate came up behind him and put her arms around him. She should never have left him. She knew that now.

Rick turned to face her, still in her arms. He slipped his around her and kissed her. He smiled and looked down at her. "What do you think about lunch?"

"I was thinking of something else," Kate said as she bit her lower lip.

He raised an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"Make love to me?" Kate murmured. "I love you."

"Then it's a good thing I love you too." Rick kissed her. He was glad he had made the right decision. There was no going back. This time, it was a one way trip for him. He was grateful that he had been allowed to come back to the woman he loved.