"The first few days after the accident I really couldn't remember anything. There were months that I couldn't recall," she begins.
"And after?"
"I got home, and everything started coming back to me. It was a nightmare all over again."
"I can imagine."
"When I went back to work no one talked about it. Everyone acted as if they were afraid to say anything. Some of them couldn't even look me in the eye."
"They were trying to protect you," he suggests.
"My whole life was turned upside down, and everyone around me pretended like nothing happened. I realized that was out of character for most of them."
"And?"
"I think my dad asked them not to say anything. He thought that he was helping. He thought he was protecting me. He did what he thought he should," she explains.
"But?"
"When I got home I had the overwhelming sense that something was missing. I felt like someone was missing. When I realized what was missing, I couldn't understand. It was as if every trace of anyone else being in my apartment had been erased. There were no pictures of anyone on the wall. There wasn't a single article of clothing that belonged to anyone, but me. At the time I couldn't understand why. I guess maybe everyone thought it wouldn't hurt as much if I never remembered."
"But you did?"
"I was devastated. The only person that I wanted to see, in the entire world... was gone."
"Kate why did you go to New Jersey in the first place?"
"I felt obligated."
"You said that you weren't that serious with Tony."
"I wasn't."
"You said it was just a fling."
"It was."
"So why did you go to his parent's house?"
"He asked me to."
"Were you even with him at the time?"
"No."
"But he wanted you to be?"
"He always wanted that."
"But he didn't die," Castle recalls.
"No."
"So, what happened? After the accident the thought of being near you was too much to bear? I don't understand. If you weren't with him, if he was just a fling, then why did you have his stuff at your place?"
"It wasn't his stuff. I wasn't talking about him."
"I guess that I just assumed that you were."
"Rick, I wasn't in love with him."
"And yet you went to his parent's house?"
"It was complicated."
"So whose stuff was missing from your apartment?"
"Not his."
"Then whose stuff was it?"
"You didn't read the entire report?"
"I read what wasn't redacted," he explains.
"None of it should have been redacted. None of it was classified. It was all public record."
"Then your father must have given me a redacted copy."
"So you really don't know?"
"Know what?"
She stands outside of his apartment door, in the hallway of his building on a Saturday morning. She looks at her watch, and wonders if he's even up, since it's not even eight o'clock yet. She ignores the desire to run, instead she takes a deep breath, and knocks on his door. She is about to turn, and walk away when the door opens.
He stands in the doorway wearing a pair of athletic shorts. He smiles at her. His eyes light up when he sees her.
"Kate, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you in three weeks."
"I know."
"You wanna come in?"
"Yeah," she nods.
He steps aside, and allows her to enter the apartment. He closes the door behind her.
"What brings you by?"
"I wanted to talk to you."
"I haven't seen you since you freaked out three weeks ago."
"I want to apologize. I am sorry that I freaked out. You have to understand..."
He cuts her off, "I came on too strong. I understand that. I am sorry. I didn't mean to scare you off."
"I know that."
"After that morning when I didn't hear from you again I just assumed that you didn't want to see me again, and rightfully so."
"I didn't."
"So what are you doing here?"
"I think that you're a nice guy," she begins.
"You already gave me this speech. You think I'm a nice guy, but you don't want to be with me. You don't have any desire to spend the rest of your life with me."
"All of that is completely true."
"So what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk to you."
"So talk."
"I need to tell you something."
"Is this about a case? If you need help with a case all you have to do is ask. You know that we make a pretty good team."
She shakes her head, "No, it's not about a case."
"Okay, so then what is it about?"
"Something else."
"Can I get a little more of an explanation than that?"
"Yeah," she nods.