First of all – a thousand thanks to TappinCastlefan for responding to my SOS on tumblr about needing someone to go through this story for me. You're a gem :D
This takes place after Season 1 – and goes AU from there. Season 2 – 4 never happened.
Four Words
"We got the bastard, sir," was all his detective said before she set down the thick file on his desk and her ever loyal boys stepped in pulling a murder board with them.
And get the bastard, they did. The evidence against him was solid, witnesses had begun to pop up from the wood work and the determination in Beckett's eyes told the Captain that it was finally over. The hunt for the people who had ordered Johanna Beckett's death was finally over.
Captain Montgomery never asked how Beckett had managed it, but he knew that Richard Castle somehow had a hand to play in it. Granted, it had been almost two years since the guy had last been seen at the twelfth, but Beckett had requested the re-opening of Johanna's case the same day he received the letter from Castle's agent stating that the writer's ride-along days were over. Roy Montgomery did not believe in coincidences.
So he never asked, but he knew. After all, Castle was known for not being able to mind his own damned business. It had worried her team at first, her fierce determination and unrelenting drive. They all knew the last time it happened she barely made it back out from the rabbit hole and when she got back into it this time, they were all mindful of the fact that she could possibly go back down there.
But they had been wrong.
This time, she had been sensible about it. For two years the detective had worked tirelessly, splitting her time between the bodies that dropped almost daily and chasing up on her mother's murder. She went home at reasonable hours, kept all her work at the precinct, asked for help when she needed it and had managed to keep herself healthy. It was how the Captain knew that she'd make it. When he compared the images of a younger Beckett holed up in the archives ten years before to the one who stood before him that fine May afternoon, with a glint in her eye and her mouth set in a grim line – he knew she'd done it.
Occasionally, she would casually ask the boys if they'd heard from Castle, but their answer always remained a resolute 'no'. If she was bothered his absence, she never showed it. To the naked eye it seemed like she was just asking for the sake of conversation and no one suspected that anything was amiss.
At home though, Beckett ached for him. There wasn't single day that she didn't regret sending him packing. In the heat of the moment, drowning in betrayal and heartache, she'd yelled at him for poking his nose into her life, accused him of wanting nothing more than a juicy story for his character – and when she'd calmed down enough that day, she had told him to leave and never come back. She expected him to protest and argue with her about the merits of him being beside her while she solved the case, but to her surprise, she got nothing of the sort from him.
The files pertaining to the murder were on her desk the next morning, but the notepad that he'd kept in her top drawer was missing and his 'I'm not a cop' mug gone from the break room. In the space of a day, the twelfth was suddenly devoid of all things Castle.
He'd left her a few voice mails over the next few months, asking how she was doing, if she wanted an advanced copy of his book, if the precinct needed the Espresso machine serviced. He sent her a few emails, asking her opinion on cover art for his book. She had ignored them all. Deleted every voice mail, trashed every email and soon enough, he stopped trying to make contact with her altogether.
And she'd been fine with it for a while. He hadn't been around that long for his absence to really make an impact, but during the nights, after snuggling into her blanket, his smile taunted her. His scent, his jokes – the memories of building theory with him invaded her subconscious and she'd wake up feeling empty and hurt and all sorts of unfamiliar feelings she never knew she was capable of feeling. Especially for a man who had so thoroughly annoyed and irritated the hell out of her since the first time they met.
The ache lessened after six months. By the time she'd gotten the final piece of evidence she needed to nail the guy responsible for orchestrating the conspiracy that resulted in the death of Johanna Beckett, the pain had dulled into a steady throb that she knew she would never really recover from.
Rick Castle had helped her solve her mother's murder and she didn't even get to thank him for it.
00000
The sun was scorching against her back, the sweet tinge of summer warming her skin. Beckett shot her friend a smile, thankful for her advice that morning to put on a loose summer dress – the only one she owned – for their outing that day. A gentle breeze blew past them, taking away some of the heat, and she grasped Lanie's hand a little tighter, swinging their hands absent-mindedly between them.
It had been a while since they'd gone out together like that. Months had passed by without so much as a casual drink between the two friends because Beckett had been so caught up in the case that no one dared to even suggest the idea. The moment the judge ruled against the sick bastard, Beckett had found herself enveloped in one of the sweetest moments in her life – crushed in a group hug with Ryan, Esposito, Lanie, the Captain and her dad. Tears of joy were streaming down their faces and she finally felt the weight that had been her burden for a good ten years lifting. The only thing – one thing that she would never admit to in front of her friends and family that day – that she missed was him. His voice, his laughter, his steady presence beside her that had all but faded into mere memories.
Two years.
It had been two years since she'd last seen Rick Castle.
"Ooh, I think we need a little pick me up, don't you Kate?" Lanie said as she tugged them towards a cosy café, and Beckett followed willingly. She was never going to say no to coffee.
"Oh!"
Kate crashed into the back of her friend, not realising that Lanie had stopped walking abruptly in front of her. She started to grumble, but the words died in her mouth as she spotted the reason for Lanie's sudden lack of movement.
His eyes met hers over Lanie's head, crystal blue and just as clear as she remembered them being. He looked exactly the same as the day he'd walked out of her life, charming and debonair in his pressed suit and expensive looking shoes. She felt her heartbeat pick up speed and let go of Lanie's hand.
"Castle," she whispered. "Hey."
"Hey… Beckett, Doctor Parish," he greeted them. His eyes were still fixed on her as he moved towards them. Lanie was still standing shell shocked and Castle sidestepped her to come to stand in front of his former 'partner'.
"It's been a while, Detective. You look great," he said easily. Beckett wasn't fooled though. She could sense the heaviness in the air and the slight hesitation in his voice. "So... you did it."
She didn't have to ask what he was talking about – they both knew what he was referring to. The news had been all over the papers.
"Yeah. Yesterday, actually," she answered. "I – I tried calling … you."
By the way Lanie suddenly gasped for air and shook her head, that particular fact was evidently news to her. The medical examiner backed away slightly, leaving the two in their own space and she leaned against the wall of the building, intent on watching the reunion between them. Taking out her cell phone, she snapped a few quick pictures. Such juicy, juicy material she could share with the boys.
"I uh, had my number changed. Picked up a stalker or two in the last year or so," Castle said. His hand inched forward as if he was going to shake her hand, but then fell back to rest against his side. Beckett blinked. She never thought things would be so awkward between them.
"Congratulations, by the way. For … you know. The case. I knew you'd solve it, Beckett," his words were coated in sincerity … and, regret? He turned away and squinted against the sun before turning back to her.
"I have a book signing to get to. But, like I said, congratulations. And, uh. Sorry. For … everything. I'll see you around, Beckett. Lanie."
Before Beckett could say anything else, he'd crossed the sidewalk and once again she was faced with the view of his retreating back, disappearing out of her life.
"Girl …"
Beckett turned around to meet her companion's eyes, shining bright and eager. "Save it, LAnie."
"Nuh – uh. I'm not lettin' you let him go again," Lanie said. She inched forwards towards Beckett and shook her head. "Not letting you wallow in self-pity for a second time over that man."
"I never wallowed in self-pity Lanie!" Beckett protested, outraged. "He walked away from me. Both times."
"Right. I seem to recall the first time was 'cause you told him to, and this time was 'cause you let him."
"I … " Beckett faltered. Lanie had a point. Damn.
"Go."
"What?"
"You have his book right? The one about you? Heat Wave? It's always in your bag, don't look at me like that – I know you have it with you. All the time."
"So?"
"Dear God, woman. Go get it signed! Go, go!"
Suddenly she found herself being turned roughly around and shoved across the road, Lanie marching behind her and refusing to let go of her shoulders.
"And don't come back until you've talked to him, properly, you hear me?"
00000
Book signings were fun and Castle always loved them. Meeting his fans was an exciting experience; hearing their opinions about his book, how they've enjoyed it – how it changed their lives, it was the reason he kept doing what he was doing. And so when he saw the line that had accumulated at the front of the table, he flashed them all a charming grin.
"I would like to thank you all for coming, and I'm looking forward to meeting every single one of you today," he announced with a flourish before he settled himself into the comfortable chair. Pen at the ready, he glanced upwards toward the first person in line and began.
It was an hour and a half later, with the line significantly shorter and his hand twitching painfully from all the signing, that he got a surprise in the book he'd just flipped open.
Coffee some time, Castle?
He stared at the four words, recognising the familiar loopy scrawl on the page and he looked up at the owner of the slightly worn out book. Green met blue.
"Hey," Beckett said, almost shyly. "You … already know who to make this out to."
"Beckett," he cleared his throat and swallowed. Two other girls were behind her, peering at them curiously and he shook his head to look back at his former partner. "Uh, coffee?"
"I can meet you at that place we saw each other before when you're done?"
"Beckett, I don't need … anything from you. You know that, right? It's been two years, and I've just made peace with the fact that you want me out of your life, please – if this is just a gesture of gratitude, you really don't have to."
The look that crossed his face was devastating. Beckett wished she'd reached out to him sooner, wished that her pride hadn't gotten in the way of going to him for help – asking him to come back. It was clear that he'd been hurt by her actions and she felt her heart breaking all over again for him. She sucked in a deep breath and dove in.
"This isn't me thanking you, Castle. Not directly … this is me asking you out to coffee. And maybe later, a movie then dinner. You can walk me back to my apartment, and I'll tell you that I had a great time. This is me asking you to forgive me for not calling. This is me, standing here, in front of you, asking you out on a date."
He'd gotten up from his seat sometime in the middle of her speech, and Beckett realised that there was now barely an inch separating the two of them. Both Paula and Gina stood off to the side, watching intently at the scene that was unfolding before them, taking note of the possible damage control that they'd have to deal with if anything happened. The rest of the fans were gawking at the exchange between their favourite author and this strange woman who'd just asked him out on a date.
And when he reached up to cup a palm along her jaw, when he bent down to touch her forehead with his, when his lips met hers, softly and oh, so gently – in one of the sweetest kisses she'd ever had, everything around them erupted into a frenzy of chaos and confusion.
But it wasn't like either of them noticed it anyway.
00000
Hope this was enjoyable :)