Author's Note: See notes on Chapter One for a more complete introduction. This chapter deals with what we didn't see over that first summer break before episode 2.1 Deep in Death, although I do reference 1.9 Little Girl Lost and 1.10 A Death in the Family.

I may have taken a little bit of liberty with this whole conversation between Will Sorenson and Castle—trust me, I know they were not friends, but I'm excusing any instances of being out of character because Sorenson was taking painkillers and Castle was devastated by apparently losing Kate. We never see the FBI agent again, so I thought I'd have him bow out gracefully while also acting as a catalyst for a bit more growth in our favorite writer.

Disclaimer: Castle and its characters do not belong to me, I make no money from this, and no copyright infringement is intended. I'm just enjoying some time with a few of my favorite characters. The story is mine, however.

Richard Castle, Grown-Up

Chapter Five: You Like Her

As he watched her walk away from him, more hurt and angry than he'd ever seen her, he knew that his biggest fear was coming to pass. She would never forgive him.

Well. That went poorly, to say the least. He realized that she had been so upset that she'd left without telling Sorenson she was going. Great. Now I have to go back in there. I can't just leave the guy wondering what happened to Kate. He walked back to the door and again tapped on it before stepping into the hospital room.

"Uh, hey, Agent Sorenson. I just wanted to let you know that Detective Beckett just had to step out for a while—"

"Writer monkey! You're back! Come on in!" He motioned him further into the room with an erratic wave of his arm. "And call me Will. If you're going to steal my girl, at least use my first name to lower the boom."

Yeah. He's heavily medicated, alright.

"Actually, you don't have to worry about me," Castle began. "I'm no threat. Just take good care of her, okay? Don't hurt her again." He turned around, headed toward the door, but Will's voice stopped him.

"What? You came, she left, then sends you to tell me 'bye' for her? It sounds like she just didn't want to tell me her decision in person. Funny, I never thought she was that scared of the truth before."

This is going to take a while. He moved to the chair beside Sorenson's bed, the one Kate had vacated earlier, and sunk into it, bone weary. "Well, she didn't send me, exactly," he admitted. "But she needed to get some air, and I didn't want you to think she'd just left you. I think she'll be back in a few minutes—she needed to calm down a bit and process some things."

"Calm down? Process?" Will struggled to sit up a bit higher in the bed and grimaced with the effort. "Why would she need to do any of that?"

"I made her very angry. Sorry about that—I didn't mean to interrupt your time together, but I couldn't wait any longer to relay some information I had."

"What did you tell her? It takes a lot to make her that upset."

"Umm, it's about her mother's case—"

He let out a low whistle. "You really did mess up this time, didn't you?"

Rick really didn't feel like discussing this with him right now, or ever for that matter. But Sorenson was so doped up on pain meds that he probably wouldn't remember this conversation later anyway. "Yeah," was his only response. He put his head down in his hands and waited for the expected gloating, but it didn't come.

"Why did you do it?"

"I've asked myself that question a thousand times now. It started as an attempt to get on her good side, you know? Solve her mom's cold case." Did I just say that? Admit that to her ex? Why don't I just leave now, before this gets any worse? But he couldn't seem to stop the words coming from his mouth, despite knowing that he was digging himself a very deep hole. "Then I really wanted to help her, to give her some closure to all of this. She doesn't realize that she's still carrying it around every day, that it's keeping her from moving on."

"You really do like her."

It was a statement, not a question, but somehow Castle felt compelled to respond. "I—, I—," he couldn't deny it, even to this man who would probably use the knowledge to his advantage. He finally just shut his mouth.

"So fight for her. Take it from me—I didn't and I'm still regretting it. Don't give up, she's worth the battle."

Shocked by Sorenson's blunt words, Rick stammered out a reply. "W-we never had anything going. We've only known each other for a few months now. I'm not exactly sure what I'd be fighting for," he quietly admitted.

"So that's the problem, is it? You don't know where you stand. I've seen how you look at each other, and at the very least you're fighting for a special kind of friendship. And don't let on that I'm the source of your information," he whispered conspiratorially, "but there's a lot you don't know about her mom's case. For example, you've already accomplished your purpose, at least partially. You just don't know it."

Is this an instance of the painkillers muddling his thoughts? "What are you talking about?"

"You've already helped her deal with some aspects of her mom's death."

"How can that be? She just shut me down out there—she won't even talk to me!"

"No, no, no, no, no. Before. Before she even met you." Rick's very confused expression asked Will to elaborate a bit. "Your books," he stated simply, shrugging his shoulders as if he didn't exactly understand it, either. "She's read every one of them—even stood in line for a stupid autograph once. You already had an impact on her and were a part of how she struggled through that horrible time in her life, even before you knew who she was."

Rick sat back in the uncomfortable chair, speechless. Sorenson waited only a moment before continuing.

"Look, as much as I hate to say it, I've already lost her. She's over the sprinkles. I could tell when I kissed her—she was hesitant. Things aren't the same. I've been blaming you that we weren't reconnecting, thinking that if you hadn't interrupted us in that moment that I might have been able to rekindle that spark and convince her that we belonged together. I've been fooling myself that her asking for my help in speaking to Moran would be the opening I needed or that her sitting by my side in this hospital would be enough to get us back on track." He sighed heavily, staring up at the ceiling. "But as much as I would like to blame you, none of this is your fault. I was stupid and left her in the first place, long before you were ever around. I made work more important than our relationship. And my worst mistake was that I didn't call when I got back because I realized how dumb I'd been and wasn't sure how to tell her, or how to ask for her forgiveness. I thought I'd have time later to find the perfect opportunity—but by the time I had, she'd moved on."

Sorenson's eyes refocused on Castle, and he smiled somewhat sadly. "You're missing the bright side, here, Writer Monkey. Her reaction proves that she did, in fact, trust you once. You've betrayed that trust by choosing what you wanted for her over her desire that you leave it alone, but she'll give you a second chance, if you can prove that you deserve it. Don't give up. Don't make my mistakes. Call her. Keep calling her even when you don't know what to say. Find ways to show her you're sorry, that you get it now. Pester her until she gives in. You're good for her in ways that I never was, ways that I never could have been."

They talked for a few more minutes, then the nurse came in to remind them that Agent Sorenson needed some rest if he was going to recuperate quickly. Rick stood and extended his hand to the other man. "Thanks. For everything."

Will accepted the handshake and smiled. "Just take care of her, okay? Don't betray her trust again when you have it back. She'll forgive once, but the second time won't be so easy."

He nodded and walked out the door, heading toward the elevator while his mind worked overtime trying to decide just how much of their conversation he could trust. Was Agent Sorenson simply speaking gibberish because the medication had affected his brain? Was he somehow trying to manipulate Rick into further damaging his relationship with Beckett? While he sure seemed like a noble man, was he really this unselfish?

But if what Sorenson said was true, there was no reason to give her space; it would only backfire if he waited for the right words to come to mind. Why not? What do I have left to lose? He dialed her phone number and waited until it went to voicemail—he was under no illusion that she'd be taking his call anytime soon. He heard her voice over the line and it was a bittersweet moment; he already missed her so much and hearing her speak, even on a recording, drove that home. The beep sounded and his mind went blank. Everything he wanted to say had fled. He cleared his voice, then launched in. "Uh, hey. It's me."