Enough is Enough
by Castlefan6
Authors Note: This is AU; A different scenario after Rick returns to the Precinct in Episodes 3-1. Based on a few quotes I live by,
"Castle, go home! Go back to your ex-wife, your Hamptons, your book parties, okay? I've got work to do." This is what prompted this story
I don't own Castle; I only use the characters for amusement purposes, except the ones I create.
Also, we take liberties with the timeline from Canon and use events to make this more believable fiction, thanks. Remember This IS AU. Timelines, Events, and Outcomes may vary from the Original Script.
WARNING! THIS WILL NOT END AS A CASKETT FIC. If that disturbs you, please don't read
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Chapter 8
Castle's London Home
14 Months Later
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Rick was finally saying goodbye to the most lucrative book deal he ever dreamed of, as well as a country he had fallen in love with. In total, he had penned nine novels for a certain British Secret Agent, all nine had reached the best-seller list in both the US and the UK. It had also more than quadrupled his wealth, to the point where James Patterson was now churning out a book a month using scab writers in hopes of maintaining his superior wealth status.
It was time. All of the legalities and hurdles that needed to be overcome had been completed. Now it was time for him to return home, and hopefully marry his long-time love, who had never pressured or questioned him about their status. He had worked hard to surprise her when they arrived at the loft, now if only things would go smoothly on the trip home,
Alexis had graduated from Oxford early and returned to New York to supervise the preparations along with Gina. The only family member who was clueless about what was about to happen was Martha, by design.
He knew the quickest way to ruin a surprise was to tell Martha and then say, "It's a secret so don't tell anyone." That would automatically trigger her internal database of contacts she could contact and share the news, promising they wouldn't tell another soul.
"Are you all packed Sweetheart, our plane leaves in four hours?" he asked,
"Yes, I was just taking one last look at our scrapbook, who would have believed the love story we have to tell." She said,
"Oh, and we will, I'm sure some people won't believe our love story, even though we documented it being played out in real life. I have been tagged as a scoundrel, a playboy, a womanizer, and a two-time loser in the matrimony department, so I'm sure I will need proof to change some of their minds." Rick said, as he came up behind her and gently hugged her petite waist.
"You were never any of those things Richard Castle, and it didn't take those labels for you to sell a gazillion books. You proved that when you were humble enough to be the writer carrying on the tradition of a certain British Secret Service Agent, as a ghostwriter.
"I'm really happy you got Gina out of Black Pawn, she seems so happy now at work, and things with Carl are going great for her." She said as she leaned into him, tilting her head for a gentle kiss.
"You know, she's a hell of an editor, and really, I am honest when I say, if I had signed with any other publisher, I don't think I would have had the success I did. It's not always about talent, there's always a degree of luck and good fortune on our side as well," he returned the kiss.
"Well, all I know is you are too modest, and I think it's great that Alexis has accepted me, even though she doesn't know everything, I think Gina was a huge influence on her for that as well." She said, just enjoying one of the last moments in the place they had made their home the last few years.
"No doubt about that, Gina just wants us to be happy, like she is now. I knew she would be she just had to take a chance again as we both did. I know I was scared to death, I never wanted to feel that hurt again, and I'm sure you felt the same." He nuzzled her neck gently,
"If you keep that up, we'll miss our flight, but you're right. I was never more afraid of anything than letting my heart go, completely surrendering my love, after the experiences we both have had." She said softly,
"Yes, but just think everything in the past has led us to this, our future, and I know it will be worth every painful moment, and I can't wait to start it. So, we better get to the airport, oh, I forgot something he said,"
She just looked up at him with her eyes adoring the man that was holding her, "What?" she asked
"I forgot to tell you I love you, and I always will" he whispered as she turned her head and captured his lips.
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New York
Same Time Frame
Kate had overslept and didn't have time to brew her coffee, so she stopped at the Java Hut a few blocks from the precinct. The moment she walked into the store, she was hit with a nagging feeling, that something or someone was about to deliver bad news. She had almost dropped out of sight since the dramatic closure of cases saved Weldon from using the 12th precinct as his lamb led to slaughter. Roz had steadily increased the closure rates, and now they were back to the top in all of New York City.
She noticed the girl sitting with her back to her, the red hair, God it couldn't be, she was living with her boyfriend across town, she thought, as she placed her order.
"One Grande, two pumps of sugar-free vanilla please," she said, and the girl with the bright hair turned to face her. "Kate, Kate Beckett, I don't believe it." The mystery young lady was indeed Alexis Castle,
"Alexis? What are you doing in this part of town, I thought you were living with your boyfriend across town, or that was the last thing I heard. I guess it has been a while since I heard any information she confessed.
"As you said Kate, it's been a while, and that was three boyfriends ago. I'm at the loft, at least until Dad, and, eh, I, well until he gets home soon." She caught herself before she revealed something that Castle wasn't ready to go public with yet.
"How's your Grams, still going strong with Chet?" Kate asked,
"Chet died almost two years ago, Grams bought her apartment less than a block away from the loft, and she opened an acting studio. She keeps pretty busy, and she still acts in Summer Stock." Alexis said, surprised that Kate didn't know the current events.
"I'm so sorry to hear about Chet, I only met him once, but he seemed like a very nice man," Kate said, trying to dig out of the hole she seemed to be making deeper with each word.
"He was, he adored Grams and made sure she was taken care of now that he is gone. I thought she would move back to the loft, but no, she purchased the condo, within a week of his death. She seems happy, but with her, you never know if it's Grams or a role she is playing" Alexis smiled,
"How about you and your boyfriend, is that a diamond on your left hand?" Alexis pushed,
"Yes, Josh and I are engaged, well it was last Christmas, but neither of us is in a big hurry to tie the knot. I think it's just the security that it's more than just a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship at our age, we're too old for games." She said,
"Well congratulations, I hope you both will be very happy," Alexis said with a smile,
"Thanks, Alexis, I'm sure we will be," she said awkwardly, "You said your Dad is coming back to the loft, is he all done with his project in the U.K?" Kate asked and saw the puzzled look on the young lady's face.
"That was what he told me the last time I spoke with him, he helped Roz, Anne, and me out with a big problem we had with some cases we needed to close," Kate said,
"Kate, Dad was there mostly to make sure I wasn't too lonely, 60 miles away is a lot closer than 3,000 miles away so maybe that was what he meant. He split his time between there and working with Mom, I mean Gina, in Los Angeles. Don't tell me you haven't seen even one of the films made from his books. She asked with a look of shock on her face, "I mean Kate they were based on you and your work"
"No, Josh and I prefer plays over movies, that is when we can coordinate our schedules to get some alone time" she offered as a weak excuse,
"Kate, have you followed any news about Dad at all? You do know he's rumored by multiple sources to be getting married soon, I can't confirm or deny it, but, if you're still Caskett 41739 on the website, all of the information is there. They are even putting up odds as to whom the future Mrs. Castle is going to be." Alexis smiled,
"I don't know what you're talking about his website, I"
"Kate, I am the administrator of Dad's site, I know you were a charter member of it dating back to when you stayed with us for a while after your apartment was bombed." Alexis busted her, but honestly, she hadn't logged on since she and Josh had gotten serious.
"I'm sorry Alexis, I have to run, it was great catching up with you, and tell your Grams I said I'm sorry for her loss," Bye" Kate grabbed her latte and headed out the door, full of shock and horror, Castle getting married? To whom, how did this come about, it couldn't be Gina, she was just at a red-carpet event for another writer with a date, so WHO?" her thoughts raced through her head,
She made her way into the precinct, and took her position at her desk, Roz walked by and said, "You OK Beckett? You don't look so good"
"I'm fine, I just heard some news that I wasn't prepared to hear, it kind of shocked me, that's all" she replied,
"If you say so, if you need some time off, you know you have accrued a ton of PTO that I won't be able to pay you for, so take a couple of days if you need it," Roz said,
"Thanks, Roz, could I ask you a personal question? You don't have to answer if you don't want to" she said, shyly,
"Ask away Beckett, no guarantees I'll answer but try me." She said with her smile,
"Have you seen the movies made from Castle's books? I ran into Alexis on the way to work, and I didn't realize that three of them had been turned into films." She added,
"Of course, Anne and I get VIP tickets, for our guys and us. The stories are authentic, and you can tell that Rick has had his hand in the writing of the script, the actors used terms like he used to use here." She said,
"Such as?" Kate questioned.
"You may not remember but he never said Good Night, it was always Till Tomorrow, and when he wanted to emphasize something, he would respond with the word Always, just little nuances I picked up." She said, "Oh and Nikki drinks your same coffee, down to the sugar-free vanilla, two pumps" Roz added
"Yea, I remember. Roz have you heard any of the gossip, I mean"
"Kate, why don't you just come out and ask me what you really want to know? Have I heard the rumors that he is about to get married again, and do I know who the bride-to-be is? That's what you want to know, I don't know why, you and Josh have been engaged for almost a year now. Why do you care what Rick is doing?" She asked,
"Well?" Kate just looked at her,
"Yes, I've heard the rumors, I've also heard that he might run for Mayor, Governor, or even president, but it doesn't make them true. As for who the woman is, I have no clue, no one does, except Alexis." She said, "Again, why do you care?" She stared at her, eyes not moving,
"I don't care, Roz, you said it, Josh and I are engaged, and well we're trying to arrange our schedules so we can have a small but intimate ceremony. We're in no rush, we have the rest of our lives," Kate added,
"Un huh, just like all of the Jane Does in Lanie's morgue thought as well, none of us is promised a tomorrow." She said, "Besides your biological clock is ticking if you ever hope to have a family, you better do it soon" As she walked away, Kate felt worse than before she asked the question.
Kate knew Roz was right, she was dragging her feet setting a wedding date. Was it because she really didn't love Josh, no she did love him but as Castle once said about his relationship with Gina, they weren't in love with each other. Josh had tried, really hard, he had scaled back his trips to less than half of what they were, he stopped pressing her about moving in, and finally just accepted that he might be headed for the world record of time a man was engaged but not married.
She silently kicked herself for asking about Castle, hell, he was about to get married to a mystery woman if you could believe that? Who was she? How did they meet? What did she have that Beckett didn't have? Hell, Alexis seemed excited for them, so she couldn't be all that bad, could she? That wasn't like him at all, he typically he relished living his life on page 6 of the NY Times and now shrouds of secrecy covered not only him but his future plans as well.
Kate knew once Josh found out that Castle was in a serious relationship it would mean she would have to commit to the marriage or break up. Counting all the time they dated it was almost three years, and if she didn't know by now, she would never know.
She decided to take Roz up on her offer for some time off, she couldn't concentrate on work, especially the boring paperwork that they seemed to be cursed with waiting on some idiot to shoot someone. She took a walk to the park that held the swings, she had planned to get Rick there once he returned from the Hamptons and open up about her feelings, but she never got the opportunity to do so before Demming set the record straight with Javi and Kevin and all hell broke loose and her world came crashing down.
The first slap came when Roy announced his retirement to the entire precinct, normally he would have called her in and let her know privately before it was general knowledge. The second, and perhaps bigger smack in the face was when Roy supported Roz for Captain of the precinct, even though he knew it was her dream of succeeding him.
He was correct in his support, BUT he still should have spoken to her in private, as he always had in the past, why the change she still wasn't clear. She knew he was very upset with the divide between himself and Castle, and somehow blamed her, OK, she deserved the blame. She should have spoken up, and not let everyone pile on Castle when he had done nothing wrong.
Even when he had said goodbye to her, it was different, almost as if it was from a Captain to a subordinate, not friend to friend. If he shared his reasons for retiring when he did, no one offered their answers. His one explanation had been, "It's time for some fresh eyes to take command, they will bring solutions that I would never think of. Everything has a season, this has been mine and now it's over," as he left the podium and the 12th precinct for the last time.
It didn't end the way it was supposed to. Castle didn't leave the way he was supposed to. Javi and Kevin were supposed to still be at the 12th, not in some foreign land or the Narcotics Division. Somehow the universe got all twisted, and now, she was going to have to accept that what could have been, will never be. Coming to grips with that, was almost as hard as losing a loved one. It was knowing that you had control over the situation, and your stupidity caused everything and everyone around you to change.
She sat on the swing, swaying gently back and forth, trying to make sense of her new world, a world without Roy, Castle, Kevin, Javi, and Lanie. A world that left only her and Josh, her only friend, to fend for themselves. She cared about Josh, and she supposed she could grow to love him as much as he loved her, but it was going to be hard.
She resolved herself to accept whatever was about to come her way, she had no choice but to do so, and make the best of the situation she was in. At least she wouldn't have to face the world alone, one of her biggest fears right after Royce left. Josh was a good man, she told herself over and over again, she could have wound up in a much worse situation.
Hell, he was a doctor for God's sake, many women would have loved to have been on his arm. She thought she was one of them until she had to face the reality that the price of losing Castle was far greater than any reward of being Mrs. Doctor Josh Davidson, but she had to accept it now. Worse, if the rumors were true, she would have to see another woman in the spot next to Rick, that she secretly wanted to have so badly. "Katie, life sucks sometimes, but we always get what we deserve in the end", as her mom used to say. Why did she have to be so damn correct?
TBC