Chapter 11 – All the Facts

I'd been expecting him to show up from the moment I'd told him that it was his turn to pick the location and I'd provide the story. Since I hadn't received a call or a message with a location, when the knock came at 9:30, I was wearing yoga pants, socks and an NYPD sweatshirt, with my hair in a sloppy braid. "Hey Castle."

"Good morning." His voice was pleasantly sing songy as he walked past me carrying the tray of coffee and bag with what I'm sure was pastries.

He lead the way into my kitchen, setting down the supplies pulling out his own coffee and plucking an éclair from the bag as he leaned across the counter towards me. "So what murder mystery do you have for me today?" He asked with his trademark grin and a waggle of his eyebrows.

Picking up my own coffee, I looked at him. This wonderful, charming man. Somehow had managed to find his way back into my life, and if I wanted him to stay I needed to give him as much information as I could. And I did want him to stay. In the last six months I'd realized that, I wanted him to stay so badly, seeing him walk away just wasn't an option any more. "Kate?"

His question broke me out of my thoughts. "Come with me Rick," I picked up my coffee and lead the way into the small office area I had set up off the living room. Setting my coffee down on the desk, I motioned for him to take the desk chair. Swallowing a deep breath, steeling myself, I opened the wooden shutters that I kept closed, revealing the murder board that I hadn't looked at in months.

I heard his intake of breath, fast and harsh. But for once in his life he didn't say anything, as I crossed back to him and leaned against the desk next to him. "After last night, I thought maybe today's story could be about an unsolved case." I said softly not meeting his eyes.

His focus shifted to look at me, "Kate, you don't have to."

"I want to." I told him before tearing my own eyes away from the board to look at him, "You are the reason that I even have this much, and I have to tell you all of it because without you knowing all of it, we have no shot..." The pause couldn't be helped, but there was no point in hiding it from him, "And I want very desperately for us to have a shot."

He didn't say anything for a moment, and then he nodded his head. "Ok, where shall we start?" He held my gaze for a few seconds and then turned his head back to the makeshift board.

Starting slowly, I moved my gaze back to the board. "A few months after you left we had a stabbing victim. He was stabbed in the same way my mom and her colleagues were. Lanie was so worried about telling me," I remembered how she had the boys flanking her on either side just waiting for my reaction. "The actual case is largely irrelevant save the fact that it was the work of a hit man. A nasty son of bitch that got away. He convinced us that it was someone else was the hit man, by the time we figured it out. By the time we realize the man feeding us information was actually the man we were looking for he was gone. He just strolled out of the precinct taking everything he knew with him. We never found him again."

I looked at him, he was staring at the information on the board, looking for the story I was telling him. "I spent a week looking for him. Not sleeping, only eating when the boys made me. I was desperately searching everywhere for him. It wasn't until Captain threatened to put me on unpaid leave indefinitely that I took a breath and realized that I'd lost the only link I had to my mother's case."

"Kate…"

"Don't. We learned a lot from that, I know who actually killed her, and one day I'll find him and won't feel. Then we had the beginning of the threads of a conspiracy to unravel." I paused taking a deep breath, "I just… I just wish we had any idea how out of control and crazy it was then. Every time we turn a corner there's more. I'm not sure we even have the grasp of the scope of this case even now."

"Keep telling the story. Kate you'll find the links the story will unravel, but like every story it takes time and comes in fits and bursts." He told me.

"You're the story teller, Rick."

"It's not my story to tell." He insisted, indicating that I should keep going.

I laid a hand on his shoulder to center myself, remind myself why this was necessary. He reached up and wrapped his hand around mine. "About a year ago I got a call from Detective Raglan. He was the investigator on my mom's case." Closing my eyes I pictured that day sitting across from the old detective in the diner booth, "He told me that the case started 19 years ago, which didn't make any sense, but before I had the chance to find out what he was talking about a sniper took him out as we sitting there in the booth."

"It was a nightmare, Castle. Montgomery sent me home he wouldn't let me work on Raglan's case or my mom's and he left the boys to follow it." I smiled proud of them, "But they're good investigators those two, they found the sniper."

I closed my eyes pausing; there was so much to this story. So many details that made sense and didn't make sense but they weren't important he just needed the basics. I needed to give him the basics. "Unfortunately, they're not perfect and they got captured."

"So how'd you save the day?" He grinned, I was still his hero. The one that he'd been show captivated by that he'd written a whole book about me.

"Well, the Captain and I figured out where they were being held, in this abandoned warehouse, not far from the docks. I got there just a few minutes before HRT arrived and I couldn't just leave them in there. So I flirted shameless with the door guard. When he was sufficiently distracted by the pretty girl draped all over him, I knocked him out and snuck into the building. I was able to put a bullet in two of the guards that were torturing Ryan and Esposito, but if it wasn't for HRT's miraculously timely arrival I'd probably be dead."

"Well thank you goodness you were following protocol and actually had back up on the way." He said lightly.

"Yeah, well without my rag tag writer partner convincing me to abandon regulations, I have to get someone to watch my back." I bumped his shoulder with my hip. "We were able to lock up the ring leader, Hal Lockwood."

"I visited the prison once a week Castle. Once a week I went there and waited for him to break to give me something new." I released the breath that I'd been holding and plunged on. "Besides Raglan we'd learned that there were two other cops that were involved in the event 19 years ago that somehow led to my mother's death. One was Raglan; the second was his partner and a third unknown at the time. We got the partner locked up but we had no idea who the third man was."

Steeling myself, I began the worst, freshest, most painful part of the story. "In May I went to the jail for my weekly staring contest, and Lockwood had been transferred into general population. He killed Raglan's partner." Another ragged breath out. "When he went to court for to enter his plea… they had an escaped plan. He got away Castle."

The hand wrapped around mine on his shoulder, squeezed gently. "Oh, Kate."

Biting my lips, and closing my eyes, I felt the first tear spill down my cheek. "This conspiracy, Rick, I still don't have any idea how complicated it is and I've lost every lead I had into it."

I felt a warm hand on my cheek, a thumb catching the solitary tear. Opening my eyes I realized he'd stood up was facing me blue eyes, clear as water, just waiting for whatever I was willing to give him. I pressed my cheek into the warmth of his palm. "You can't breathe a word of this to anyone, ever. The boys and I, we're the only people that know this."

"Kate you don't have to tell me…"

Bringing my free hand up to rest against his chest, feeling the good solid heart I knew to be beating there. "I know Rick, I know. I need to." Curling my fingers into the soft material of his shirt, "You just have to promise me that you won't say anything to anyone."

"I promise. Anything you need."

"Captain Montgomery was involved." I choked out, months later I couldn't wrap my head around it. It still hit me hard every time.

"Kate… Oh god Kate… I had no idea…"

"The boys found out on their own, Roy, he called me. Told me that he was so sorry, that there was so much more to this than I would ever know… He told me he loved me like a daughter and that he was sacrificing himself so that I could have a full life. He wouldn't let me say anything. Wouldn't tell me where me was, he just said, 'Kate this is my spot, this is where I make my stand,' and then he hung up." The tears were flowing down my face. "Rick, I was the one that found him. He was just lying there in an airplane hangar surrounded but Lockwood and his men. He'd killed them all for me; he wanted it to stop there…" My scar throbbed, and I had to release his shirt to press my palm against it. "I can still feel the bullet tearing through me. I can see the sky, feel the grass of the cemetery, and feel the blood pouring out of me."

That was apparently as much as Castle could take because suddenly his arms wrapped around me and he was hauling me against his body. Enveloping me in his huge frame, cradling me to his chest as if I was the most precious thing in the world. He just held me as the tears flowed out for the first time in months. As the sobs subsided, I could hear him whispering me, "Kate you're ok, you're here, you're alive." And he just kept saying it over and over, punctuating it with the occasional kiss to my forehead.

I don't know how long we stood there but slowly I pulled myself back together focusing on the warmth of his hands up and down my back, the soft plaid of his shirt against my cheek, and the soft thud of his heart. I took deep breaths pulling in strains of Castle, warm and comforting with just a hint of spice. "Thank you." I said quietly into his neck.

"Any time. I'm always here."

Pulling back just enough to look up at him, as I laced my own arms around his neck. "Just the same. Thank you." He smiled bringing a hand back up to my cheek, leaning into it for the second time today, "Not exactly the story you were hoping for this morning I'm sure, but after last night I thought that you deserved to know everything."

He contemplated what to say for a minute before he finally said, "Thank you." Which took me by surprise, which must have shown on my face cause he felt the need to explain, "For trusting me enough to tell me. I meant what I said last night, I'm not going anywhere."

I smiled for the first time in what felt like hours, "Well that's good because, I like having you around." His smile bloomed matching mine and leaned in brushing his lips against mine ever so softly, going no further than that just waiting for me to take the lead. I hesitated for just a second before melting into him pulling his bottom lip between my teeth playfully before soothing it with my tongue and he fully took over the kiss, sliding his lips over mine. And I felt all my senses leave as I just floated.

Eventually he pulled back, "Why'd we never do that before?"

I chuckled resting my head against his shoulder, "Well the first time you asked me out you were a pain in my ass."

"Umm…" he agreed, his chest rumbling as he just held onto me.

"I'm sorry about last night," I told him picking at the seam of his shirt.

"What are you apologizing for? Last night was one of the best nights of my life."

"I know but you had something different planned."

He hummed again. "Well, that's only because the next date I want to ask you on is a lot more public and flashy and I wanted to ease you into the magical world of dating a famous author."

I pulled back knowing that this was going to be good. "The magical world of dating a famous author would involve what?" I asked quirking an eyebrow.

"Feel free to say no."

"Castle. Just ask."

"The launch party for the final Bond novel is Tuesday," he said cautiously. "And, I was hoping that the extraordinary Katherine Beckett would accompany me?"

"Launch party?" the last one of those I'd been to was at the end of our final case.

"Yes, but you can say no, and I wouldn't be hurt in the least. You have work the next day, and it will be big and very public. But I'd really like if you came with me."

I thought about it just briefly, "Well then I'll need to get a new dress."

"You'll come!" he exclaimed, crushing me to him again.

"It sounds like fun. Besides this book isn't about me." I smiled, up at him. "Seriously, though Castle you're going to have to let me go. I have to go to work this afternoon and if you want me there I definitely need time to find a new dress. I don't have one that will cover the scars."

His smile fell for a second, "Kate you're beautiful with the scars."

"Well thank you Castle but they present too many questions." I extracted myself from his grip grabbing the empty cups starting to make my way back to the kitchen when he grabbed my elbow and kissed me hard and fast. "What was that for?" I asked when he released me.

"Never had the chance before." He shrugged, "It seemed like the appropriate way to show my gratitude. Ok I shall leave you to the working and the dress shopping." He smiled.

"Well, ok then."

"Talk to you later?" He asked

"Yeah. I can't expect you to go a few hours without talking to me," I teased.

"You know me so well." He said walking to my door. "Until next time Kate."

"Bye Rick." I told him with a soft smile, which he returned, as he let himself out.

I went about putting the cups in the dishwasher, fixing myself some lunch before wandering into my bathroom. I was a wreck, the early tears obliviously having wreaked havoc on my makeup, and made me all blotchy and swollen. A shower was definitely in order before work, but first a phone call.

She answered on the third ring, "What's up girl?"

"I need to go shopping and I was wondering if you wanted to help me pick out a dress?"

"A dress for?" She asked suspiciously.

"A book launch party?"

I could hear her excitement through the phone, "I'm free when you're free."