Castle Theory # 6

He smiled as she kicked off her flats and drew her knees up to her chest. Watched as she curls in on herself as she readied to spill more of her secrets. The contents of her heart, here in this sanctuary he had helped her build.

The shoes themselves he took for the sign they were. The evidence towards her defenses being down, no need for external armor. Her shoes flat negating the need for dominance and her hair pulled back from her face leaving her exposed. She has been open and willing, giving herself over to the healing hands of her Doctor.

It had taken a while for her to move past what she thought he wanted to hear and speak the truths she had kept hidden so long. It was longer still before she would react, forceful and burning bright with long denied emotion. Storming around the room with barely disguised frustration or caving in on herself and letting him see her cry.

She broke and re broke her heart on a regular basis, just so that she could set the pieces in proper order, the scared edges knitting themselves together again as she healed.

She didn't give in easily, didn't open up fast or without thought, but in unsteady and tentative steps, she took her time. And in that time, those hours, endless sessions of bitten replies she slowly allowed herself to truly trust him.

Only what makes this worse, is that she didn't know that week after week, session after session that she was being watched. That everything personal to her, was being recorded, and not in the way she would expect. The notes he amasses in ream after ream, even the digital recordings near the beginning. All devices to let her hear the truth she was so afraid of.

But there was more, for everything she did, everything she said...was vital.

The entire game revolves around her next move. Her decisions, her choices. And the moment she decides to take the king, it will all be over.

So they have to stay one step ahead. Anyway they can.

Even if it means eliminating a few of the pawns that stand in the way...not that he cared. But even Roy was valuable, and it was a shame to see him sacrifice himself.

Watching her now, as she talks about a current case, it's a violation of trust, and he knows that but he could be at an advantage here. Sitting and listening to her fears. Learning her weaknesses. He can use this against her. Push her into making a decision of the heart and make her let go of the one thing that has held her back.

Her mother's case.

But now it has become more complicated. She can't just let it go, even though she seems willing now. Because even if she did, there is still someone close to her that could bring her back into it, and that could be fatal.

He knows all about the odds they are at right now. He's glad of it, for it keeps her focused on something other than the move they are all looking out for. She's consumed by the longing in her heart, and all of her revelations should be leading to a proud moment for her.

For her love.

From what he has learned, it's not something she has ever truly exposed or embraced. That side of her she turned from at such a young age. And yet here it is. For him to see. The measure of her soul just waiting for them to cut open, leave raw. For the one thing that could save her, is also the thing that could also bring her down.

The one thing they need her to let go of.

The writer.

So now as she sits and talks of doubts and worries that she has waited too long, he nods and leads her, so trusting and broken as she was. She seeks the answers herself but she allows him to guide the way, and the conclusions she comes to...

Castle's not ready anymore.

He nods.

He smiles, and he can see she thinks it's because she's working through the issues and ideas and coming to her own conclusions. As if the therapy is doing what it's supposed to, giving her the tools to be better and more.

And maybe it is. He can see this once broken woman repairing. Becoming stronger. And maybe that is not good for him, for what his task is here. But maybe, just maybe, if he raises her hopes just enough.. he can use it for a harder fall.

This betrayal will decimate her confidence and all the work she has put in over the last 10 months, which is why she won't find out.

He asks her what she wants, waiting as she sits in silence, and when she finally speaks he leads her to the conclusion that maybe if she can't have him now, she should look for something, someone, else.

He needs to separate them before the writer fills her in on all the work he has been doing, before she starts to help him. Because they were watched a long time before this and the people with power have observed how well they worked together.

But the game must play out, the pieces moving in the a predetermined pattern. Dr. Burke has been charged with the task of keeping the Detective from upsetting things, before she upturns the entire board.

But even as she stands, he's still not sure if he's succeeded. If there is anything he has learned about Detective Kate Beckett, is that you cannot underestimate her. She could easily rise to the challenge. And the best he can do here, is make sure the challenge exceeds her abilities.

He waits for her to leave, their time up and her head full of contradiction and doubt. She thanks him and he wants to laugh. The most unfunny appreciation he has ever received, because as she works towards being whole, he chips away and breaks her apart.

He hears her greet the person in reception, an almost shy hello that sounds nothing like the defensive, and on occasion bitter woman that she used to be.

A man brushes past her and Dr. Burke greets the man as he enters, invites him into a chair and waits until he sits down. The invitation is perfunctory because hewill sit where he wants, when he wants.

The man enters farther into the room slowly, looking behind him as he watches the last shred of her disappear around the corner before Dr. Burke closes the door. The therapist then strolls to the bookcase, thumbing through the various articles, magazines until he reaches a particular book that would normally seem out of place.

""How was the session?" The man asks, turning on his heels and regarding the therapist.

"Was..." Dr. Burke begins, handing the man a book. "Satisfactory." He then replies almost proudly, looking at the superior man. Although on the inside he feels a fraction of doubt.

"Good." He replies, flipping open the front cover.

There is more to this book than meets the eye. Not only is it strategically placed, but in the inside flap is a tiny device, which the man collects before reading the name on the inside flap.

To the authors adoring fans it's just another story. Just another feet of justice served to those who deserve it. They get theirs, and everyone goes home happy...

That's the beauty of a well written book. The psycho babble he can rattle off, when in reality. He's writing the real deal. These are not just plots woven from his imagination.

It's Truth.

Burke watches the man opposite him, turn the book over slowly in his hands. It's eerie in similarity to the young woman who has spent months doing the same thing. Clinging to the book and the promise it holds. The memories it evoked for her every time she thought back to where they had started.

"Notes?" The man asks, extending his hand for the intimate musings of the Doctor trained to get inside the head of Katherine Beckett.

Burke pulls the the folder from the table next to him, continuing to watch the steady rotation of the book. He can't help but wonder at the unfairness of a universe that would allow the thing that united them, the writer and his muse, to be the thing that could tear them apart.

A truth written, a truth hidden in words and plot.

For, somewhere buried in the depths of these pages are the heinous conspiracies no one should know about. And anyone who stands upon the board proud of their secrecy, of everything they thought they hid, the manner in which they took care of things..well they are in for a shock. For this meddling Writer tells all.

This book is not filled with fiction. For every made up story, there is a small amount of truth.

Burke closed the distance between the two of them, sliding the folder into the man's eager waiting hands. Breaking her trust and his Doctors oath in one fail swoop. Some secrets are best left uncovered.

The truth is a dangerous thing.

ALTERNATE ENDING: Should Burke turn out to be evil!

Dr. Burke walks into his office, freezing in the doorway, unsure as a feeling of dread washes over him. Suddenly he is accosted and strapped to his chair, the place where he spent months pulling secrets from Kate, worming his way into her trust, before he broke her heart. It was there he was tortured with sharpened and dirty instruments, before Kimmie calls to Lizzie, who steps out of the shadows.

Walking closer she says "This is for Kate." Pressing the barrel to his head...

BANG THE END

Jackass...