Summary: This is a continuation of my story, What Kate Wants. Here's Rick's point of view.
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, they belong to ABC, etc. This is simply my playtime.
Chapter 2 What Rick Wants
He's dreaming about her again… and he's smiling in his sleep, because this time, it's a really good one…
In the light of day, he's not surprised by them, he dreams of her all the time now. He lets himself enjoy them, the steamy, fun ones that is, but the scary ones, when she's in danger - not so much.
He knows it's his mind's way of working their story through in his head, especially after a particularly rough case or a long day in her presence. He is simply overwhelmed by her, thinks of her all the time, so it's no shock she invades his dreams at night when his guard is down.
He knows it's his subconscious giving him clues as to what he really wants and what he wants, is blatantly obvious. He knows he needs to take action, but first he needs a plan. A really good plan…
He dreams he's stepping out of the elevator and into the bull pen of the precinct. He quickly scans the area, takes a mental head count, and notes all the regular players are present except for his Beckett. Where, oh where is the "love of my life" he wonders?
He then bursts out happily in a loud, sing-song voice, "Oh, Hon-eeey, I'm home!" but everyone ignores him. Plus, still no sign of Beckett.
He's perplexed by this, so he tries it again. This time everyone does look up at him, annoyed, and there's a moment of complete silence where no one says anything before they all resume their work as if he'd never spoken, let alone sung, twice, in the middle of the bullpen.
"OK", he says quietly to himself, decidedly taking it down a notch. He steps further into the bullpen and heads off towards her desk.
"Now where did that little minx run off to?" he dreams to himself, because even in his dreams he knows she would kill him for saying something like that out loud.
He finds Esposito and Ryan both sitting at their desks doing paperwork. He says hello to them both, then asks how they're doing.
"What's up guys?" he says in a friendly manner.
They look up, seemingly annoyed by his presence. "They look at each other, stand, hands on hips, and simultaneously greet him with "Where the hell have you been Castle?" exclaiming - also in unison, "She's been miserable without you and she's taking it out on us!"
At first their words don't register fully in his brain, because frankly, he was a little creeped out by the unison thing. He shakes his head as if to clear it, and to get his dream back on track. Once cleared, he resumes their conversation.
So, he thinks, smirking, she told them she missed me, did she? They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.
He missed her too…. he really did. He remembers his long, lonely week. He's been miserable without her and he lets out a heavy sigh.
Wait a minute! They said she missed him! At this news his mood escalates to positively gleeful. If only he owned a diary, he would write in it right now.
He knows he's supposed to act cool about it in front of the guys, so he puts on his best cool face. By the looks he's getting, they don't appear to be buying it. Apparently, it needs more work.
They're still talking to him, but since he had been off on an insecurity tangent, he has trouble keeping up. He asks them to repeat the part about her missing him.
He needs clarification, he needs to be sure, so he asks if she specifically said she missed him or if they only assumed she missed him.
They look at each other, roll their eyes, shake their heads, and turn back to him with a look that clearly says he's pathetic.
Esposito tells him, that of course she didn't tell them that herself, nor did she pass him a note in study hall, and that he's an idiot. He says her bad mood corresponded with the exact times his absence occurred, which makes him their main suspect.
Ryan also tells him Dr. Motorcycle Boy visited Beckett yesterday at the precinct, and since she didn't seem upset after he left, they had even more proof Castle was their perp.
He takes a deep breath and confesses he never wanted to make her unhappy, but had to stay away for awhile to clear his head, figure out what to do about his feelings for Beckett. He doesn't want to stop working with her, he's her partner, but this thing she has with the pretty boy was slowly killing him.
He holds his breath because he can't believe he's spilled his guts to them like that, it makes him look whipped, but they don't appear surprised or laugh at him and they genuinely seem to understand.
He senses something akin to male camaraderie, and admits it feels amazing to finally get it off his chest. They say nothing, but their encouraging looks persuade him to go on.
He has a fleeting thought that maybe they can help and he feels his internal damn of emotions finally burst.
She's his! , he declares, as he stamps his feet in frustration like a five year old with a temper tantrum, and asks them how she can't possibly see what's so obvious to everyone else. She's supposed to be a detective for Christ's sake, he exclaims. Doesn't she see they're perfect for each other? Does he really have to hit her over the head with it? , he cries.
Gee, that felt good, he thinks, but he sits down nervously running his fingers through his hair before covering his face in embarrassment. Oh well, so much for playing it cool.
He realizes this outburst was unusual, even for him, and uncovers his eyes, somewhat, gauging their reaction. He's pleased to find the twins are nodding like bobble-heads, so he gathers up his courage, stands tall, and paces while ranting, to his seemingly captive audience.
He's not done yet, he thinks to himself, and he finds himself angry and wanting to hit something.
Josh is all wrong for her! He doesn't make her happy! He doesn't make her laugh or appreciate her like Rick would! The woman's a goddess and Josh isn't good enough for her! , he shouts to the air.
Sure, he's a successful surgeon, ridiculously tall and good looking, and runs around saving lives every day, but...
God, I hate that guy! , he declares disgustedly, before stopping for a second.
He allows himself this brief moment to regroup because he's pretty sure that's not the direction he wanted his rant to go in. That - and it's his dream, damnit.
Esposito cuts in with, "Bro, we don't get it either. You're like a love sick puppy for god sakes. That guy's not good enough for her. You and Beckett, you're a team."
Ryan nods in agreement then says dreamily, "I think it's sweet, you and Beckett. Ah, unrequited love…"
Esposito smacks Ryan and tells him to shut up. It's not unrequited love, you idiot. They're both just chicken shit!
Ryan turns to Castle and adds, "I just want you guys to be as happy as Jenny and I are." Then he glares at Esposito, sits and pouts.
Now, where was he, Rick thought? Oh, yeah, he wasn't finished with his ranting. Back to why he's way better than the other guy…
He's getting all worked up again and he can feel the adrenaline flowing. I'm a great catch, he tells them with confidence. I'm funny, charming, successful and if I must say so myself, ruggedly handsome. Women love me.
He doesn't voice this next part, but he's sure she has her reservations about him and he understands them. But he only has eyes for her; she shouldn't believe what she hears.
He's only had two real relationships in his life, both ending in divorce. What she doesn't know is he was the faithful one in both of those marriages. They cheated on him. He knows the reputation he has in the media, but it's all a load of crap.
He tried to make it work with them, but Meredith, while he's grateful she gave him Alexis, didn't want anything to do with a baby and a husband. They did the best they could before she ended it by cheating on him with her director. She was more than happy to give him full custody of Alexis.
When he see's Kate interact with Alexis, how well they get along, it makes his heart ache for the family they could be.
Then there was his marriage to Gina, which was basically a business arrangement. She liked his fame and fortune and he had a really good editor, bed partner, and hopefully a step mother for his daughter. They never really connected. It wasn't love. It was convenience. He couldn't figure out how to make Gina happy, even though he tried and eventually she looked elsewhere.
Alexis got along with her well enough, but their relationship always seemed to be forced. After the divorce with Gina was final, Alexis told him she didn't want just any step mother. She wanted him to be happy. She'd rather it just be them, unless he knew he'd found "the one". His daughter's so smart.
He and Gina work well together and remain friends, but other than last summer's roll in the hay, which was a mistake by the way, that's a road he's not taking again.
Last summer was so he could forget about Kate and Demming and leaving town didn't help. He was miserable, returning to find Demming gone only to be replaced with his new nightmare, Josh.
But Josh isn't her "One and done" either, he's sure of it. She's still keeping him on the hook, every once and awhile, reeling him back in a little bit more, making sure he's still waiting for her. And he is.
Kate and he are partners in every sense of the word and she'd be better off with him. He would spend the rest of his life trying to make her happy.
There's more than just attraction between them, and no, it's not just lust. Yes, he's wanted to sleep with her since he met her, she's hot, but he's experienced enough to know the difference. He's never felt this way before about a woman. He knows he's in love with her.
Internal reflections complete, he continues with his rant to the boys…
And furthermore, he says with conviction, she doesn't love Josh. She's settling, because she's afraid of ruining our friendship. Afraid of what we could have.
Plus, she and Josh have no spark, he says. He glances at the boys and notes they don't look as convinced of this.
You know how I know that? , he asks them, not giving them time to answer. Because of the sizzling, hot, sparks she has with me, that's how. We're all about the chemistry, my friends. When we flirt, you can actually see the vapors rising.
Josh doesn't love her. If he did, he wouldn't keep leaving for months on end like he has. If it were me, I would never leave her. Can't she see that I'm crazy about her? Next to Alexis, she's become the most important person in my life. Alexis loves her just as much as I do.
I've been giving her space, sitting back, hoping she'll realize she has feelings for me too. But gentlemen, the time for action has come. I need a plan.
They go over the plan…
Esposito tells him to man up, take the bull by the horns. Go after his woman. Kick Josh's ass.
Ryan tells him to fight for her, court her, tell her all the things you just told us. He tells him to include the internal reflections too, because they were pretty insightful.
He's thrown by this slightly, but nods in agreement and takes it under consideration.
Ryan looks him over for a minute and tells him it wouldn't have hurt for him to have brought her some flowers. Rick looks down to his hands finding them empty, and frowns realizing Ryan's right.
Ryan then magically pulls a beautiful bouquet of flowers from his desk drawer and says, "here, you can use these!" This is strange because he always thought he just threw old lunch garbage in there, but Rick goes with it and thanks him.
He asks for more help with the plan. With his serious face on, Esposito looks him directly in the eyes and says, "Dude, this is your plan. Just do everything we just talked about in this dream."
Ok, he says, but he begs them to help him fine tune it. They agree to toss a couple of other ideas around on ways he can court her.
They're still working on the plan, and talking about how great Halo is, when all of a sudden he can feel her watching him. He knows she's in the room. His heart rate picks up and his whole body is on alert.
Then he hears it, in her super-sexy, sultry, 900 number voice, "Why hello Castle, you're back, I've missed you Big Rick". He looks to the twins for moral support and they both whisper to him to remember the plan before, threatening him within an inch of his life if he hurts her, and wishing him good luck. They make a hasty exit.
He turns around slowly to face her... the love of his life…and finds her dressed in a giant onion suit costume. Vidalia, he thinks briefly.
He is momentarily stunned, at a loss for words, since he really hadn't seen that one coming. It's one of those big, oversized costumes, where you can only see the person's face, arms and legs and she has on green neon tights and tennis shoes. He shakes his head again to clear it, but this time it doesn't help. She's still a giant onion.
He decides to take a moment for some inner dialect. It's his dream after all.
There has to be a reason for this. Although, she does looks kind of cute, he thinks, even if she is dressed as a big, giant vegetable. I mean really, the woman can make anything look good.
He thinks it might be because he had all those onions on his pizza last night before going to bed or it's an analogy for her having so many layers to her personality just waiting for him to unfold. He decides to go with the latter.
They're smiling at each other now and he's dying to hear what she has to say for herself. He's looking forward to her explanation and trying very hard to contain his laughter because he doesn't want to hurt her feelings. He bursts out laughing anyway and she laughs along with him. God, he loves her laugh.
"Ok, Kate", he asks her seriously, "You want to tell me why you are dressed as a vegetable?"
Isn't it obvious? She asks, I want you to peel me Rick…
No, she didn't just say that, he thinks.
She doesn't give him time to respond because suddenly, she launches herself into his arms, throws her arms around his neck and locks her lips to his, the impact knocking them both to the ground in a very ungraceful manner.
They're kissing, rolling around on the floor, and he's hanging on for dear life. While he's enjoying their kiss, he realizes that now might be a very good time to discuss the plan. Their kiss has given him confidence and he thinks she might be open to his ideas.
He gathers his senses first and brings them both to a standing position.
First things first…
What about Josh, Kate? he asks seriously.
"Josh? Josh, who?" she says smirking, as she reaches for him, placing her hands in his. She looks like she's going to jump him again.
He gives her his best, pointed, raised eyebrow look so she tries to get serious for a minute.
"Oh, you mean Dr. Motorcycle Boy?" she asks innocently. "He's gone and good riddance. He left last night for Northern Siberia to save baby sheep or something like that, and I told him not to come back. I told him I wasn't going with him and it didn't matter if he stayed because you're the only one for me Ricky.
He's lets this sink in then breaks out into a big cheesy grin, finding himself ecstatic over her revelation.
He tells her how happy this makes him, because part of his plan was to kick Josh's ass and now it's not necessary. What, Josh is a big guy.
She says she doesn't need him to fight her battles, which he tells her he already knew, and admits she could kick both their asses. She whispers in his ear that although this may be true, she's sure Rick could have taken him.
Then she makes her confession to him. "I love you Rick, she says. It's always been you. Always. I was only with Josh because I wasn't ready for you yet and wasn't sure how you felt, but I overheard what you said to the boys and I'm ready to take a chance now. Please prove to me that you want this too. Tell me you're serious about us", she says.
"I love you too Kate, he tells her. I was afraid you weren't ready. I was scared to ruin our friendship, but now that I know how you feel I'm ready to commit to you, to us". He kisses her gently this time, unafraid at last to show his true feelings.
His dream ends there, as he hears his cell phone ringing and finds himself waking up. He's in his bed and he realizes it must be Saturday morning. He got home last night, early from his book tour. He'd only been dreaming. He grabs for his still ringing cell phone and smiles when he sees her number come up.
Today's the day. It's time to put the plan in effect…
Authors Notes:
I know this chapter wasn't as serious in nature as Chapter 1 with Beckett's point of view, and probably not what you expected, but I honestly thought Ricks dreams would be a hoot, since he's such a character. I hope you enjoyed reading and that you'll click on the review button and drop me a note. I squeeled like a little girl with each review I got for Chapter 1. It meant a lot, really, and gave me the courage to write more. Next up, Chapter 3…let's get these crazy kids together!