A/N: So... wow. The response to the last chapter was a little overwhelming. Thank you so much and I hope you guys stick with me, even if I'm bringing on a bit of angst.

Disclaimer: Castle is still not mine.

Someone Like You

Chapter 15

For a moment, it felt like time had stopped and all the oxygen supply around her was suddenly gone. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move. She couldn't do anything except stare at the man that she had sworn to herself she would never forgive. He looked older, was the first conscious thought that ran through her mind. Granted, it had been nine years since she had last seen him, but the older look suited him, she would give him that. Of course he still looked good; he was already easy on the eyes at age 27, now he looked even better.

But it didn't matter because he had abandoned her pregnant and alone and now he was here, staring at her in apparent shock. How long had he been back to New York, she wondered. How long had they been roaming about the same city; had he been breathing the same air as her son, walking the same streets as her little boy and not dared to make a move to contact them?

How long?

"Katie." He breathed out and finally broke the silence between them. She didn't know how long she stood there in shock, but as she snapped out of it, she realized the kid behind the counter was still waiting impatiently for her to order.

"Yeah, I'd like a hot chocolate and a caramel cappuccino, please."

She found her voice and was proud of herself for sounding firm and steady, instead of the crumbling mess she felt inside. Handing the kid the money, she waited for the change, concentrating on breathing in and out. Her heart was beating wildly out of control and she grabbed the marble surface of the counter to hide her shaky hands. Her knuckles were white with the strain and she prayed that he would just take the hint and leave. She could not deal with this right now. Not with Tyler so close. Not now that she was so happy with Rick. She refused to give in to the dark abyss that was calling out to her, refused to give in to that feeling of hurt and anger and helplessness that tried to claw its way out of her.

"Katie." She heard his voice again and this time she prayed that this was just a sick dream and that she would wake up any second now to Rick's concerned face or her son's little hands shaking her awake, like he had done so many times before. When she felt his hand on her shoulder, something snapped inside of her.

"Don't." Her voice was quiet, but the venom that laced it made it sound almost like a growl.

"Kate, I just…" he tried to get a word, an excuse, whatever in, but she wasn't interested. She just wanted him to leave.

"Don't. Just…" she took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, willing the angry tears that burned behind her eyes to disappear. She would not cry. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing just how broken she still was. How his handy work had permanently damaged her. "Just leave."

"Mom?" Her son's voice made her look down and she closed her hands tightly on her sides, nails digging into her skin, as she tried to calm down the turmoil going on inside of her before facing her little boy.

"Yeah, sweetie?" she reached out a hand to brush his hair away from his forehead, taking comfort in his familiar hazel green eyes, so much like her own.

"I got us a table all the way over there." He pointed to the back of the back of the small coffee shop. "Is the hot chocolate ready?" He asked slowly, a concerned look now falling over his features as he looked from his mom to the tall man in front of her.

"Almost, Ty. Why don't you run back there and wait for me. I'll wait here for it, alright?" she smiled at him, but the worry remained on his young face. "Please, Tyler. Go wait for me there." She said more firmly and noticed that he had been gripping her coat tightly in his hand. With a nod, he made his way slowly back to the table, looking back at her with a confused frown.

"Is that…?" Josh's voice trailed off and she looked up at him again, fire in her eyes.

"Yes." She said shortly and turned around when her name was called behind the counter, announcing her order was ready.

"How old is he?" He asked quietly and Kate turned back to him.

"I think you can do the math for yourself. Either way, it's none of your business. He is none of your business. He is my son and you will stay away from him. You'll stay away from us." She grabbed the tray with their beverages and walked past him without looking back. Taking a deep breath before approaching the table where her son waited for her, she willed her hands to stop shaking. She could not break down in front of Tyler.

"Mom?" His eyes were fearful and it just made her heart ache even more. "What's going on? Who is that man?"

"Nobody, baby. Don't worry." She smiled at him, sitting down and handed him his hot chocolate. "Blow on it, Ty. It's really, really hot." He still looked at her apprehensively, his eyes searching hers every few seconds as she sipped her cappuccino in silence. Her head hurt, her eyes burned and she ached all over.

"Kate." She almost wanted to scream when she heard his voice again. "Kate, please, you gotta hear me out." She took a deep, fortifying breath before looking up at him again.

"Josh, just leave us alone. This was your choice. Now go." She said calmly and squeezed her son's hand when it slipped into hers under the table.

"She told you to go." Tyler said bravely and Kate squeezed his hand again, looking at him proudly for defending her.

"He doesn't even know about me, does he?" he asked and there was a twinge of sadness in his voice.

She didn't care.

"No, and it will stay that way." She turned back to her son and offered him a reassuring smile. He tried to look brave, but the fear and concern in his eyes gave him away. She lifted his hand to her lips and pressed a soft kiss to it, garnering a small smile from him. When she turned back to where Josh had been, a relieved sigh escaped her lips when she saw he was leaving.

"Are you okay, mom?" Tyler asked her and she took a deep breath, nodding. The tears were welling up in her eyes again and she bit her lip and swallowed hard to keep them at bay.

"Let's just finish here and go home, okay?" She almost pleaded with him and he nodded, returning to his hot chocolate.

They finished their hot drinks in record time and were soon on their way back home. When they entered their apartment, Kate told Tyler to watch some TV or play his PS3 if he wanted. She knew he was concerned, but he just nodded when she said she was going to take a shower.

"Hey, mom?" his timid voice stopped her before she could close the bathroom's door and she turned back to him. "I love you, okay?" He said quietly and she nodded, a tear slowly making its way down her cheek. She prayed he hadn't seen it.

"I love you too, baby. So much." Her voice was barely a whisper and this time she knew she couldn't disguise the shaking that accompanied it. Smiling weakly at him, she closed the door and hurried to turn the shower on.

The sound of the water drowned out her tears.

That afternoon, Rick and Alexis indulged in a full out laser tag battle. Running around the entire loft (every square inch was game), they laughed, shooting at each other mercilessly until Alexis finally took him out with an uncanny good aim for a kid her age. They were taking a break in the kitchen when he got a text from Kate with a picture of her and Tyler. He was glad that everything seemed to be working out just fine for them. He knew she had been concerned about her son's reaction to their relationship, but he felt fairly confident that he had managed to instill some sort of certainty earlier that he would not hurt his mom and that he was not stealing her away from him. That he really did care about her.

After she sent the picture, they texted back and forth for a while. He was still giddy from their night together and he couldn't wait to have her in his arms again. He thought that his addiction to her couldn't possibly get any worse than it was before, but now that he had actually touched her, felt her body pressed against his, heard her come apart in his arms with his name bubbling out of her lips in the most exquisite form, it had just gotten worse. He missed her already. The desire to touch her was so much more intense now that it physically hurt. He wasn't sure if he had ever felt this way about anyone before, not even with his ex-wives. Was this what falling for someone felt like? He honestly had no clue.

He had sent Alexis up to take a shower and was working on getting dinner ready when his phone rang in his office. He made his way over there and smiled when he saw Kate's name flashing on the screen.

"Hey." His voice was warm and he hoped she was calling to ask if he wanted to do something. Yup, he was that whipped.

"Rick? It's Tyler." The childish voice surprised him and he blinked, confused.

"Hey, buddy. What's up?" He said after a beat. Why would Tyler be calling him from Kate's phone?

"Um…" The boy hesitated and Rick frowned, already getting worried. "It's my mom."

"What happened, Ty?" He tried to ask calmly, but several worst case scenarios were running through his overactive mind, each one more horrific than the other.

"I'm not really sure. She met someone while we were getting hot chocolate. I don't know who he was, but he upset her a lot. I mean, I'd never seen her so angry and sad." He explained really fast, his voice wavering and Rick wondered if the boy was holding back tears.

"Where is she now?" He asked, already grabbing his keys and throwing his jacket on, before stalking out of the office in search of his mother.

"She took a shower when we got home and I saw her crying. Then she said she had a headache and was going to lie down for a bit. But I peeked in her room and I could hear her crying, Rick. I don't know how to make her better." He whispered the last part and Rick could tell there were definitely some tears involved now.

"Ty, listen to me, buddy." He said gently. "I'm on my way there. Alright? Don't worry. Whatever it is, we'll fix it together, okay?" He knocked on his mother's room, waiting for her consent before pushing the door open.

"Okay." He heard Tyler sniffling on the other side and his heart broke for the little guy. Whatever it was, it had hit Kate badly and he was already worried sick about her.

"Alright, now go drink some water and try to stay calm, okay? I'll be right there."

He explained the situation quickly to his mother and asked her to stay with Alexis tonight while he was at Kate's. He knew she had plans, but she told him not to worry and to go see his girlfriend. They would be fine at the loft. Rick thanked her and looked around frantically for his wallet (finding it by the sink, even though he had no idea how it had gotten there) before leaving. He drove as fast as he could to Kate's and ten minutes later, he was parking in front of her building. Thank god it was Sunday and there was pretty much no traffic to delay him. He needed to get to her.

The ride up to her apartment was torturously slow and he thought just how fast things could change in less than twenty four hours. Just last night they had been in that same elevator, making out like teenagers, excited about what was ahead of them for the rest of the night. Now he was nervously running his hand through his hair, not knowing what he was going to find up there. Whatever it was, she had reacted so badly that it had scared Tyler. His shaky voice saying he didn't know what to do kept replaying in his mind.

Stepping out of the elevator, he quickly made his way to her apartment, taking a deep breath before knocking.

"Who is it?" Tyler's voice came out muffled by the door.

"It's Rick, Ty." He answered and Tyler opened the door quickly. He was still wearing the same clothes he had been wearing this morning and his eyes were red rimmed from the tears shed a few minutes before. "Hey, little man. You okay?" He asked, stepping inside.

"Yeah. Thanks for coming. I didn't know who I should call, but since you said earlier that…" he trailed off, looking away. Rick brushed his hair away from his forehead gently.

"You did the right thing, Ty. Don't worry." He reassured and Tyler offered him a sad smile.

"She's in her room." He nodded towards the closed door on their right and Rick nodded.

"I'll see what I can do. Just call me if you need anything, alright?"

After Tyler's nod, Rick walked slowly to Kate's bedroom. Again, memories of their night just a few hours before kept flashing through his mind, contrasting starkly to the reality now. Pushing the door open quietly, he entered the room, finding her curled up in bed. At first, he thought she was sleeping, but then he watched as her hand reached out to brush against her cheek.

"Kate." He said quietly, trying not to startle her, but she jumped at the sound, anyway. "Hi." He greeted her softly when he saw she had recognized him in the semi darkness.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice hoarse, still full of tears. He walked over to the side of her bed, reaching out to her hesitantly. When she didn't shy away from him, he touched her cheek gently.

"Tyler called me. Said someone had upset you and that you were crying. He didn't know what to do." He whispered and closed his eyes when she gasped, probably realizing the turmoil going on with her son. "He's okay. I talked to him. He was just scared and confused."

"Oh God, I shouldn't have left him alone. I just… I couldn't…" Now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness in the room, he could see that fresh tears were streaming down her cheeks. She wiped them away, annoyed.

"What happened, Kate?" he asked hesitantly, not sure if she would want to talk about it or kick him out for prying.

"I…" She started, but her tears prevented her from continuing. She had sat up in bed when he arrived and Rick decided to risk pulling her close. Watching her suffer like that was breaking his heart. He needed to comfort her somehow. He needed to see her smile. "We went to get some hot chocolate. I told you that, didn't I?" She said, after swallowing hard and taking a deep breath. Rick nodded and sighed in relief when she relaxed against him. He moved around until his back was against the head of the bed and wrapped his arm around her.

"Yeah. That was the last text I got." He murmured against her hair and felt her take a shaky breath.

"We stopped by that French café a couple of blocks away from Central Park. The one we went to the other day?" She looked up at him for confirmation and he nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear gently. "I was texting you back, waiting in line, while Ty went to find us a table. Then I bumped into the guy in front of me by accident and..." She stopped talking abruptly and he looked down at her, touching her cheek, trying to encourage her. "It was Josh." Her voice was so low, so defeated and heartbroken, that Rick himself found that a knot had lodged itself in his throat. When it dawned on him who she was talking about, he felt like he had just been punched in the stomach.

"His father?" he asked incredulously and she nodded, hiding her face in his neck, her tears soaking his skin. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry." The endearment came out involuntarily and he wasn't even sure she heard it. "Did you talk to him?"

"He tried to talk, but I told him to leave us alone." She said harshly, making him hold her tighter against him. "He saw him, Rick. He saw my son. He had the nerve to ask about him." Her voice was angry and he tried to soothe her, his hands running circles on her back. She was quiet for a couple of minutes and Rick thought she had fallen asleep. "I can't believe he's back in town. God, what if he wants to take Tyler away from me?" She looked up at him and Rick saw the desperate, haunted look in her eyes. "What if…"

"Kate, he's not taking Tyler away. He can't do that. You're his mother and a damn good one at that. No one is going to take your boy away from you, I promise." He smoothed her hair back and tried to convey with his eyes that he was not abandoning her, that she could always count on him. "He has never been present in Tyler's life. Even if he tried to do that, which I seriously doubt, no one in their right mind would take Ty away from his home, from his mother."

"I just…" she sighed heavily and rested her head against his neck again, her arms circling his stomach. "I don't know what to do, Rick. What do I tell my son? How do I explain this to him?" she murmured, lost.

"We'll figure it out, Kate." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and rested his cheek on top of her head. "I'll be with you every step of the way, if you want me to." He promised and felt her nod.

"I do. I need you." She confessed quietly and he was stunned for a moment. Touching her chin, he made her look up at him before touching her lips with his gently, comfortingly.

"You've got me." He whispered in her ear and felt her relax against him.

A few minutes later, her breathing evened out and he stayed with her wrapped in his arms for a while. That feeling that had been bubbling up inside him had almost escaped and he had caught himself at the last second, right before she fell asleep. He had already told Tyler earlier that day, but now he was one hundred percent sure.

He loved her.

He loved her and he would do everything in his power to protect her.

A/N: Thoughts?