First attempt at a Castle FF. Please r/r and let me know if I should continue. Thanks
No ownership of anything Castle... dang it.
The beach can be very boring when you are all alone. Richard Castle knew this feeling all too well. He tried writing but that wasn't working. Walks on the beach alone made him feel pathetic. He knew there was only one thing that would help relieve the emptiness of his Hampton house. Bringing Gina was a BIG mistake. The first night was ok but after that, he remembered WHY she was his EX-wife. Castle let her stay the weekend but sent her back to the city on Monday. If he was to get any writing at all done this summer, Gina could NOT be around.
Pacing around the house was not helping either. He really needed to break this boredom...but how. The person he wanted to share this time with was back in the city, with her 'boyfriend'. A shiver ran through him at the thought.
He missed her... ALOT. Truth be told, he missed ALL of them. Maybe he should throw a party or poker night and invite all of them out for this weekend. But if he did invite them, would she bring 'HIM' along? Was that a risk he wanted to take? Could he be here with BOTH of them? If it meant he could be near her, he could do it. He WOULD do it. Now to figure out how to get her out there.
"Just call her", that little voice in his head said to him. But could he? Should he? No, he couldn't, he decided and slumped down onto the couch. Staring at his phone, he did come up with a different idea.
(631) 555-7425: Hey Lanie. It's me.
Lanie looked at that text quizzically. Who was 'me'? She didn't recognize the number and it wasn't in her list of contacts.
Lanie: Who is 'me'? And HOW do YOU have my number?
Oops. Lanie didn't know this number was him. Easy to correct.
(631) 555-7425: Sorry. It's Castle. Didn't mean to scare you. How are you? Everyone? Busy?
Her phone chimes again alerting her to the new text. She breathed a relieved sigh knowing that it was someone she knew who had her cell number. But just WHY was he texting her? Oh, this better be good. She saved his number into her list of contacts so to not have any confusion in the future.
Lanie: Hey Castle. We're all good. Going slow here. What's up with you? Having 'fun' with Gina?
Ugh. Truth time. Lanie did like to dive right in. Well, he did know that this would happen, but he got even with her.
Castle: Sent her packing back to the city. How are things with Espo? -)
'Oh, he's good', she thought to herself with a coy smile. What was he trying to do?
Lanie: Whatever do you mean? ;-) What's up, Castle?
Castle thought a moment and wondered what his next (and best) course of action should be.
Castle: I'm bored
Lanie: I figured but why are you texting me?
Castle: I had an idea that I wanted to ask you
Lanie: ooooookayyyyyyy. Spill
Castle: I want company out here. I was thinking about a party or poker weekend with the 6 of you.
Six? Javy, Kevin, Jenny, Kate and herself... that's only 5. Who is the sixth?
Lanie: Beckett, Espo, Ryan, Jenny and myself... who's the 6th?
Why didn't she mention Demming? Surely she knew about Beckett's boyfriend.
Castle: Beckett's 'boyfriend', Demming.
OHHHHHHHH, yea, Lanie thought to herself. Castle didn't know about the breakup. It really wasn't her place to tell him but she knew that Kate wouldn't do it...not after the way things happened. She needed to make a decision on telling him.
Lanie: They broke up
Castle's stomach did a flip. "They broke up"...the 3 best words he had heard in a very long time. He was wondering when, why and how this happened but unsure of whether or not he should ask Lanie to betray Kate's trust. Decisions, decisions...
Castle: When? Why? You alone? Can I call?
Ok, it was out there now. He thought he would jump out of his skin while he waited for her response. When his phone rang, he almost dropped it out of his hand. When he looked at the screen, he was surprised a bit that Lanie called him.
"Hey Lanie. So I guess this means you ARE alone?"
"Yes, Castle, I am, but what is going on in that head of yours?"
"I told you, Lanie. I'm bored. So what's going on?"
"Ok, I will give you the info but you did NOT hear it from me. Got it?" Lanie's tone told him he better keep her trust if he wanted to remain alive. He KNEW she knew all the ways to kill someone and never, ever, EVER leave a trace. "She broke up with Demming just before you left with Gina."
Before. Did Lanie say BEFORE?
"Lanie, are you telling me..."
"Yes. She broke up with him BEFORE you left. I think she was going to change her mind about accepting your invitation." Silence. Lanie looked at her phone to see if the call was dropped. It wasn't, yet there was silence. "Castle? You still with me?"
"Yea, I'm here. I just...think... I'm gonna be sick."
Lanie hated hearing the hurt and pain in Castle's voice but she would rather tell him the truth than lie to him. She looks at it like ripping off the band-aid.
"Honey, I'm sorry for being so blunt with you but the both of you really need to stop dancing around this thing that EVERYONE else sees. Beckett was crushed when Gina walked into the station that day, too. I was there to help her pick up the pieces. To be honest, I'm not sure she's totally recovered from her hang-over yet."
As he took in all this information from Lanie, all he could think about was how can he fix this.
"Lanie, how...can I...I need help. What can I do to fix this? To fix us?"
Lanie could hear the desperation in his voice and wondered if there WAS a way that he could fix this.
"Ok, look. You said you're bored and want to throw a party or a poker weekend out there for all of us."
"Right"
"Send a text to all of us with the invite. Remember one thing though. Make sure that you mention that Gina is no longer out there and she won't be returning."
"Okay." This much he knew he could do. "What else?"
"Do not... I repeat... Do NOT mention Demming. See how Beckett responds then we will play it from there. But, Castle, I will make a solemn vow to you that she WILL be in the car with us for that weekend."
"I will owe you BIG time, Lanie."
"You sure will."
Castle opened up his laptop and started typing out what he wanted to put in the text. He knew it had to be perfectly worded, perfectly crafted. Only then could it be sent.
TO: KB, LP, JE, KR&J: I'm bored out here in the Hamptons all by myself for the rest of the summer. Please come out for the weekend for a party, some poker and lots of fun in the sun. Lots of food and drink all around too. RC
With the message sent, he waited for their responses.
It had been a quiet morning for the 3 detectives. No case happening and all paperwork was up-to-date. Kate was busy reading some old cold case files with no new ideas. Ryan & Espo were playing wastebasket basketball and trying to stay out of trouble.
She heard the ding of the elevator and looked up to see Lanie heading over to them. Espo sidled up next to her as she walked with purpose towards Kate.
"Hey, Chica. No 'hello' for your Latin lover?", he whispered, leaning over her shoulder.
Lanie gave him a look that told him to 'can it' if he ever wanted to walk again. She came up to the side of Kate's desk and sat down in 'his' chair. Kate started to say something to Lanie but changed her mind. Who knew if he would ever be back to sit in that chair anyway. This thought stabbed at her heart. Lanie noticed the slump of Kate's shoulders and the defeated look on her face. She reached a hand over to Kate's arm making Kate look up from her desk.
"Don't give me that look. You KNOW he WILL be back."
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, all 4 of their cell phones beeped with an incoming text. They each read the text and then looked up at the others with a questioning glance. Lanie's eyes showed a slight sparkle of knowledge that this would happen.
"Castle just sent me a text", Ryan announced and held up his phone.
"Same here", Espo mimicked.
"Looks like he sent us all a text", Kate said as she still looked down at her phone. She felt like her heart was breaking all over again.
Lanie was the first to acknowledge the message itself. "Hmmmm, party and poker weekend in the Hamptons. Sounds like fun. What do you all think?"
"I'm game", Espo responded.
"He invited Jenny too so I will have to check to see if she is available before I say 'yes', but it does sound like fun." Ryan walked out of the bullpen to call Jenny.
"Kate?" Lanie leaned over the desk and quietly asked.
Kate looked at her friend with eyes full of sadness and on the verge of tears. "I don't know if I can do it, Lanie."
"You CAN and, if I got anything to say about it, you WILL."
"Lanieeeee?"
"Kaaaaate." The stare-down Kate was getting from Lanie scared her. Was there any way she could get out of this weekend? Maybe they would catch a case. Maybe the Captain would not give all of them the time off? As if he heard her thoughts, the Captain came out of his office into the bullpen.
"Hey, Cap?" Espo stood to ask him about the time off for all of them. "The 3 of us just got an invite for a party this weekend. Any chance the three of us can have the weekend off?"
Montgomery looks over all three of their faces, seeing 2 with hopeful looks and one that looked terrified for his answer. He walked over to Kate's desk. "What's the matter, Beckett? Not in a party mood?"
"She would LOVE to go to a party, Sir", Lanie answered before Kate even had a chance to respond then turned to head back to the morgue. She looked back over her shoulder to her best friend and gave a little smirk and wave.
With a shake of her head, Kate looked back to Montgomery. "Lanie's right, Sir. I am always up for a good party." Montgomery saw the pained look in Beckett's eyes but knew this was just what she needed to get her head, and maybe her heart, healed.
"Good, Detective. Now barring WWIII happening between now and tomorrow afternoon, I want all of you out of here by 5pm tomorrow afternoon. Have a great time and tell Castle I said 'hi'."
"Well, I guess that settles that then", Kate blurted out with the enthusiasm of someone going for a root canal.
Ryan comes back and announced that Jenny & he were going. Espo gave him a head shake and said 'whipped' under his breath.
Within the next 30 minutes, Castle started receiving response texts from his friends.
Ryan: Thanks, Castle. Jenny and I will be there. Cap said if nothing happens by 5 tomorrow, we can all leave then.
Espo: Can't wait, bro. Thx
Lanie: we will ALL be there. You OWE me.
He waited and waited but to no avail. There was no response from Kate.
Castle: you sure? Ryan, Espo & you confirmed. No word yet from Beckett.
Lanie: She will be there. Not sure if she'll text but she's coming with us all. One car for all.
'I guess I will just trust Lanie' he said to himself. In order to not dwell on it any longer, he went back to his laptop to try and write some more. Sitting there, staring at the screen, he hears the beep of his cell.
Kate: Thx. Cya tom.