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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FROM CHP 1 "Remember this: You are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequence of your choice."

Chapter 10

Castle's Loft

Same Time Frame

Kyra looked at Rick, tears in her eyes, she knew that she had Alexis's blessing but to be welcomed home by all of his friends and relatives meant the world to her. She looked up at him, her eyes full of tears but a smile on her face as Alexis was the first to cross the room,

"Welcome Home Kyra, I hope you enjoy it here. If you need anything, I'm just two doors down the hall, call on me anytime" she said as the young girl embraced her. That embrace was quickly followed by Martha, Gina, Paula, and all of the females in the room.

"Darling, I can't tell you how happy we are that you and my son FINALLY got your act together, and now, well I'm out most evenings, so,"

"She knows Mother, also that our room is soundproofed so thank you for that," Rick said blushing, as Kyra, laughed and kissed his face gently.

"I think it's sweet Rick, she's your Mom, I bet you don't want to trade for mine even if I throw in a boatload of cash," she laughed, but Rick could tell deep in her eyes her mother's treatment had hurt her deeply.

"So, Rick what are your plans now that you're back in the States and I won't need to worry about that damn 5-hour time difference to call you?" Gina asked,

Rick smiled, "Well for starters we're going to kick back here for a couple of days, then we thought we would visit the Hamptons, for a couple of weeks alone. After that, I think it's celebration time, so we thought we could combine our coming home with the fourth of July and have a big party up there." He said as Kyra held his hand,

"Kyra is that what you want to do?" Alexis asked, "Don't get me wrong, he's my Dad, my go-to guy, but sometimes he just plans things without asking" She laughed,

"Oh no, we discussed this early on, how we were going to tell everyone that we're a couple, and I think the party is the best way to inform his friends in the city and at the Hamptons. Thanks for having my back Alexis, but he won't pull that on me," she balled her fist up and playfully smacked him on the chin.

"No, I won't. It only took me once to learn, it's not MY plans anymore, they are OUR plans and I have a partner I need to consult before running around the room like a 5-year-old with scissors" As everyone laughed,

"Dad, I think there is hope for you yet, Thanks for keeping him straight Kyra, Lord knows I've tried but he's a handful to raise" They high-fived, and laughed as Rick feigned a hurt look.

The party went on for several hours until Gina noticed how tired they both looked and began to escort people to the door, thanking them for coming. "It's a long flight and I know both of you are exhausted so we're going to say Goodnight, and we'll see you soon." She said when she had successfully cleared the loft of guests.

Kyra went to Gina and hugged her, whispering, "Thank you, Gina, Rick told me what a wonderful person you are, and I agree. You made this so easy for me, and, well, thanks" she said,

"Hey, you're welcome. I love him, I'm sure you know that but not like that, I have my own man to train, as she held Carl's hand, but I do know what it's like to be the newbie in the family. Welcome home, I know you're going to make each other very happy" She smiled, as they broke the embrace.

Finally, it was just the four of them, "Sorry Dad, I know you don't like surprises, but I couldn't stop Grams and Gina. They wanted Kyra to feel at home from the moment she arrived, so forgive me?" she scrunched her nose as she embraced her dad, she wasn't the little girl anymore but at this moment she was still his little girl.

"Of course, we do, but there's nothing to forgive, I'm just happy that everyone showed up that could to let Kyra see, she's already part of this crazy family." Rick smiled and leaned in and kissed her gently.

"Well on that note, I'm off to bed, Kyra if you need anything you know where I'm at, just knock or yell out. Welcome home, both of you." She smiled and crossed the room to hug Kyra and kiss her on the cheek.

Kyra looked shocked but happy, "Rick did you see that, I, eh,"

"You made a great impression on her when you spent the day with her. She told me you answered every question, even the tough ones she asked, and she was convinced the timing is right now for us both, and you know what?" he asked,

"What? I'm almost afraid to ask" She smiled

"I told her I agreed, the timing is right, we're right and I know exactly what I want in my life, you." She hugged him, and just whispered, "Please never forget that I lost you once, I would die if I ever lost you again" as tears fell on his shirt.

"Come on, I want to hold you, I need to be sure I'm not dreaming," he took her by the hand and led her to his bedroom, closed and locked the door, "This is for my Mother, and we are in a soundproof room. He stretched out across the huge king-size bed, and Kyra curled in beside him. Five minutes later they both were purring with the gentle sounds of sleep.

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TWO DAYS LATER

The moving company that was transporting all of their clothes and items called with bad news. The flight that the cargo was loaded on was delayed, then rerouted to Houston Texas, so their property would be delayed in being delivered. It hadn't left Bush Airport in Houston since the DEA dogs had a positive reaction when sniffing one of the passengers, now the entire plane was being searched for contraband, and they couldn't furnish a timeline for when the property would arrive and be delivered.

"Alexis, do you feel like going shopping?" Kyra asked when she got off the phone

"Always, but what's the occasion," Alexis asked,

"Well since the moving company has managed to get our clothes tied up in a drug investigation, I thought we could visit my store and pick up a few items for the Hamptons. I can't keep wearing the same old thing every day, even if it is washed and clean." She laughed,

"Let me grab my purse and Dad's credit card," she replied,

"Oh, no need for that, I thought we would go to my boutique and let you pick out whatever you wanted. I know they have my size; I always stock the latest and stash them away so when I come to New York I could rotate my wardrobe." Kyra said, with a huge smile. She had asked Rick earlier, and he was all smiles, for his two favorite ladies to spend time together.

"Dad, Kyra, and I are going shopping, leftovers are in the fridge if you're hungry before we get back" she yelled out as she approached his office,

Kyra went in to kiss him goodbye to see the huge smile on his face, "Don't you dare say it Rick, I know, I know you told me so" she laughed, "we'll be gone a couple of hours, call me if you need me, and yes I'll miss you too." She kissed him, and then made her way out to meet a smiling Alexis standing just outside the door.

Rick was waiting for the YUCK sound coming from Alexis, but it never came, instead, she and Kyra were deep into a fashion discussion as they left the loft.

Rick had secretly set up the Hamptons to be where he officially proposed to Kyra, her diamond ring included part of an old friendship ring, that was all he could afford then, that she wore until that night in Times Square. He needed her out of the house to finalize the details, so he bribed Eduardo to make the call about the lost luggage and property. It was safely stored in Eduardo's office until Rick could pull off the ruse.

He had spoken to Paula, and she convinced him to allow one news source to cover the party AFTER he proposed, it would be an exclusive for one source, giving her additional leverage to use against all news sources to keep Kyra and his family out of the papers. He thought about it but reluctantly agreed. They would have the week together, alone, then over the weekend, Alexis, Gina, Carl, and others would join with the engagement party slated for Wednesday. He only hoped he could keep a straight face for the next several days.

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Beckett's Apartment

Same Time Frame

The old saying that bad news travel fast certainly held true for Beckett. She arrived home after an extremely difficult case to find Josh, making dinner for her. There were fresh flowers in a vase on the table, soft music he thought was her favorite, her mistake she never bothered to correct him, and he was doing his very best to appeal to her romantic side.

"Josh, what on earth are you doing?" she asked as she came home, at first startled to find him in her kitchen.

"Making us a romantic dinner for two, I think we need to talk about some things, and I was just trying to set the mood." She noticed that he had tried to please her, even going across town to get the sauce she loved for the chicken parmesan he was making along with a side of angel hair pasta. He had already prepared the salads and had them in the fridge, so God know how long he had been in her apartment.

"You should have called me, I could have shot you as an intruder" she shot at him,

"I did, I left you a voice mail, actually three voice mails, and sent two texts, so you must have had an awfully busy day." He replied, knowing some days she just turned her phone off to any calls but the precinct.

"Well, it was a busy day, an awful day actually, and I wish you would have asked me first. All I feel like doing tonight is taking a long hot bath, ALONE, as she saw his eyes perk, then roll into bed, I'm exhausted." She said,

"You have to eat Kate, and well, it'll be ready by the time you've had your bath. I promise I won't bother you; I can't burn this or it will ruin everything." He said, still not getting the hint,

She was too tired to argue, so she relented and thought ok just a quick dinner then get him out of here so she could rest, or think about what she was going to do if the Castle rumor was true, how would she react?

She took a quick bath, but she still didn't trust him completely and changed into loungewear to be comfortable for the rest of the evening.

As soon as she stepped out, he looked disappointed, as if he was expecting her to dress up for dinner at home.

"Something wrong Josh, your face looks like I just stole the last of your favorite cookies, what's wrong?" she asked

"It's just that I'm jumping through hoops to try to make this a romantic evening, and I didn't expect you to come out in your pajamas," He said,

"These aren't my PJs, for your information it's the latest in loungewear that some women wear in public. I already told you I was exhausted, what difference does it make what I'm wearing for dinner at home?

"You know you should have waited until I knew this was happening, I don't barge into your apartment and make you dinner when you're about to go into a difficult surgery," She said, a little more acid on her tongue than she intended.

"I'm sorry Kate, I truly am. One minute I'm gone too much, and the next I'm barging into your apartment trying to make you a romantic meal, tomorrow is our third anniversary of dating, but I guess you forgot" he said, hurt all over his face.

"You know what, I can't do this anymore, I thought I could overlook the bad days, and the fact that you still haven't gotten over your writer, I tried, I really did, but I can't." He had turned the stove off, removed the hot dishes, and placed them on cooling racks, as he fumbled with his keychain. Here's your key Kate, I hope you can find happiness someday, God knows I tried, but I'm done, more specifically we're done" He said and then he was out of the door.

Kate stood in the same place in shock, what the hell just happened? Did she just lose the boyfriend who had been filling the vacancy caused by Rick walking away? She couldn't eat, she reached up into the cabinet and pulled down the vodka bottle, and took a couple of long swigs directly from the bottle.

She left everything the way it was, she thought Josh just got his feelings hurt, he would call later so she plugged her phone in next to her bed and collapsed. She woke several hours later, and immediately reached for her phone, no missed calls, no texts. Maybe he had had enough of her, she didn't blame him, and strangely felt more relief than sadness.

No more faking orgasms, God knew he was perhaps the worst lover she had ever had. No more checking to see what or where he was or going to be doing, she could manage her own life again. She wasn't ready to be tied down, not to one man. Well, that wasn't totally true, it was just that Josh wasn't the one man she was ready for. She fell back to sleep wondering what life would be like now that she was on her own again.

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Later Same Week

12th Precinct

8:04 AM

Kate had arrived early but chose not to sit at her desk until 8:00 AM, she wasn't being a hard ass, it was just she liked to enjoy her coffee when it was hot. While she was in the breakroom she picked up a section of the newspaper someone had left, it was the early addition but it would help her kill time until she had to get back to work, ugh, paperwork. The section happened to be the Entertainment Section, and she noticed a familiar face, then her heart almost skipped a beat. There it was in black and white, and a color picture to go along with the headline which read,

"Richard Castle Off The Market" "Bachelor Number 9 has traded his status of one of the top ten eligible bachelors of New York for the hand of Ms. Kyra Blaine in holy matrimony, his first love from his college days. This time ladies it looks like it's the real deal. No details were released for the upcoming nuptials but Mr. Castle and his publicist, Miss Paula Haas, emphasized that there would be a selected new organization with limited access to the service when the details are announced.

A word of caution was also issued by Miss Haas when she published this picture on the official website. There was an enlarged picture of a very expensive camera, smashed to an almost nonrecognizable form. Anyone who has dealt with Ms. Haas in the past needs no further explanation.

Kate's head started swimming, what the hell? It couldn't be Kyra, she was already married, to Gregg, what's his name, Murphy, that was it, she wasn't Kyra Blaine, she was Kyra Murphy, this was all a mistake. She didn't notice Roz and Anne enter the breakroom, to witness her almost gag on her coffee. They had read the article and knew exactly what was generating this response from Beckett, Castle, and Kyra.

Kate tried to compose herself by splashing cold water on her face in the lady's room, but all that did was cause her mascara to start to run. She made her way to her desk and booted her computer. Perhaps it was a good thing today was going to be a paperwork day, she didn't trust herself or her emotions at this moment.

How bad could this week get, first Josh dumped her, and sadly she felt more relief and sadness, then this happened. Someone up there hated her guts. No wonder she was getting strange looks from some of her co-workers, was it pity, or joy for her bad misfortunes, it was hard to tell with some.

The hell with them all, she would show them, just like she always had. Who needed Castle? Let him run back to the one that got away. She finally felt Roz shake her gently, "Beckett, where is your head, I've called your name 5 times. Look, I know this is a shock to you, go home, take the next few days off, call me when you're ready to come back." Roz said kindly,

"I'm fine Roz, I don't need any time off,"

"Then let me put it this way, Detective go home for three days, that's an order. If you need more time or need to talk, call me." She turned and walked away as Kate sat there. Oh, great three days at home to do nothing but think about this, just what I need she thought as she closed down her computer and headed for the elevator.

She walked out of the precinct and just started walking. It wasn't supposed to be like this, he was supposed to come back and allow her to apologize, just like he always had. She found herself at the swings in the small park across from the bookstore. This was where she had planned to bring him to open up about her feelings, well, that worked out great didn't it? She sat there for the longest time until she finally got chilled and walked home. She opened her apartment, to find a letter under her door, she grabbed it, then shrunk down in disappointment. It was from Josh, not Rick.

She heard the small voice in her head say, get used to it Kate, you're all alone, and you have no one to blame but yourself. She picked up the envelope and placed it on the counter, she would read it later, for now, all she wanted to do was lay across her bed and cry.

TBC

Thanks to all the readers who reached out with the selection of Kyra, most said if it couldn't be KB, then they were happy with the original KB. I tried a few scenarios to bring them back together, but everyone wound up as bad or worse as a Season 8 Script that Hawley and Winters Screwed the Pooch on. We are nearing the end, so now the question will be, will Beckett learn to be happy?