Hour 24

Ok, I hate this movie. Why am I watching this? Does Castle see a correlation with our life? Does he think I'm with him for the money? I don't even dare to ask that… "Castle, why are we watching this movie?"

"What do you mean why? Don't you like it?"

"What's to like Castle? It's about buying love!"

"No it's not! It doesn't end like that, Kate! It has a happy ending, I promise."

"I still don't like it. I mean, would you sell a night with me for a million dollars?"

"Kate, I wouldn't sell a hug from you for all the money in the world."

"Down boy. I hug Ryan and Espo from time to time."

"They're your partners Kate. It'd be like being jealous of a brother."

"We were partners too Castle…"

"Yeah, but I never saw you as a sister…"

"And I never saw you as a brother…but we were still partners…"

"Is this your way of saying that I should be worried about you being alone with the guys?"

"First of all, no. You should not be worried when I'm alone with the guys, or with anyone else for that matter. I've done a few things I regret, but I'm no cheater. As far as I' concerned, it's you and me, no one else. Secondly, don't change the subject. Why are we watching a movie about buying love?"

"Kate, it's not about buying love! Yes, something happens between Demi's character and Redford's, but that's not the way it ends."

"I still don't like it. I hate seeing how he uses their need to fuck them up. It saddens me. And I'm not in the mood for sad movies. I want to see a happy one. Better yet, I don't want to see a movie at all. We're all out of popcorn, so there's really no need for us to keep on watching TV." This is ridiculous. I don't like this movie and I don't have to watch it.

"Ok, what do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do or what can we do? Those questions have very different answers…" I love the grunt that sentence inspires…

"Ok, new rule Kate… no more innuendo and sexually charged comments unless we can act on them. That's way more than what I can take Beckett!"

"Can I kiss it better?" I don't wait for an answer. I just lean in and kiss him. Deeply, long and thoroughly. But I'm still off. I really don't like that movie…And of course, my ever attentive writer sees it…

"Hey, what is it? Did the movie really upset you that much?"

"No… it's just that, well, you have all this money, and I don't, I mean, I'm actually unemployed…"

"Kate, you know I don't give a shit about that right?"

"I know. And truth be told, neither do I. Trust me, I know both of us better than that. And I'm not that self deprecating.…it's just that… well, people will think that's the only reason I'm with you… you know… as some sort of gold digger… after all, we only got together after I became un-employed…"

"Beckett, if anyone asks, and believe me, I don't believe there's a human being that could actually think that of you, we'll tell them the truth: that it took us some work, some growing up and maybe some fucking up until we could get our things together. And if they still ask 'why now', when you are unemployed and without an income, we'll tell them that you didn't feel comfortable dating your partner, so, you quitting the force was the final straw, 'cause I was a too jealous a man to date you and leave you all alone in such a man's word. But… are you? A gold digger I mean?"

"What? No! You know I'm not! I actually hate it a little bit…'cause, you know, if you didn't have it you wouldn't fly to Vegas just because you misinterpret something I say to a suspect…"

"I'm sorry about that…"

"You once told me money doesn't change people, it just amplifies what they always were."

"And I still think that… I guess in my case, it means I'm a coward…I could have stayed here and confronted you, but no, I took the easy way out and hurt you in the process… And I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for every time my selfishness and my money and my ego got in the way of being who you need me to be…"

"No more I'm sorrys for the rest of the night! Lest' keep the bubble…"

And with that, we haphazardly crash onto the couch, with him on top of me, kissing fervently and reverently. I felt reassured by the weight of him pressing me into the cushions, feeling every inch of him fully against me. I just wish it didn't evoke such a strong deep-purple-bruisses-result-of-a-damn-fight-I-wanna-forget-all-about pain! I'm about to complain when I hear my phone buzzing…Who on earth could be calling!

"Rick, I think I should get that… at least see who it is…"

"Don't" kiss "wanna" kiss "let" kiss "you" kiss "up."

I pull back as far as I can, trying to make eye contact and say: "Rick, it could be important… I did disappear on Espo and Ryan, not an hour after almost falling off a roof. Don't forget I only talked to Lanie, so they might or might not know where I am…"

"Are you going to tell them? Who ever is on the phone?"

"I just might. But please, let me up! Whoever it is, this is the third time they've called in less than five minutes. They seem to be determined…"

"Yeah, ok, come on. Let's get you up." He gets up himself and then helps me up.

I go to the kitchen and grab my phone. Just as I'm unlocking it to get the name of the person behind the three missed calls, Ryan's face starts flashing. He's the one who's been calling. "Beckett" -it's an automatic response, but at the same time, it seems so foreign…

"Oh, Kate! Thank god! I'm sorry for the time, but I just couldn't hold back anymore! I'm sorry. I know you guys think I betrayed you, but I had to do it. Castle wouldn't pick up his phone, and calling Lanie was useless, but the truth is, if anything had happened to either one of you guys, both of them would have killed me. And you know, Castle can come up with really good murder ideas and Lanie can help him cover it up, and then Jenny would have been a widower and I couldn't live with that, you know?"

Castle can't avoid shamelessly trying to listen to the conversation, so I put Ryan on speaker phone but silently signal for him to keep quiet. This is my talk with my friend. He can talk to him once I'm done.

"Ryan. Calm down. You're rambling, and the truth is, you have nothing to apologize for! You did what you had to do! If anything, I owe you an apology. For putting you in that position and for letting you worry this long. I've been hiding all day, and the truth is, I should have called you to ask you how you were doing, and above all, to thank you. But I had many apologies to deliver today, and the truth is, I only got around to the first one…"

"Are you at Castle's?"

"Yeah… I came right here after handing in my badge. I just had to apologize to Writer Boy for, once again, for not listening to him… And we had so many things to talk about, so many things to fix, that I just forgot about you and Espo. I'm sorry for leaving without talking to you. You deserved so much more…"

"I was so worried Becket… I know Javi feels betrayed, and I just…I had to know if you felt the same. Deep down I know I did the right thing, 'cause I wouldn't have been able to lift you up without the help of the other officer, but Javi wouldn't even listen to me…"

"Give him time Ryan. I'll call him tomorrow and try to talk some sense into him. But we all know I wouldn't be here today if you hadn't been there. So, thank you Ryan." I look at Castle. He's dying to say something so I give him a quick nod to let him know he can.

"Ryan."

"Hey Castle, I didn't realize you where there…"

"She told you she was here."

"Yeah, but knowing Beckett, I assumed she had locked herself up in the bathroom or in a closet or something!"

To this, Rick laughs shamelessly "Hey! I'm still here! And I'm your superior!"

"No, at least right now, you're not. He's the only actual member of any law enforcement unit, meaning, he can actually put you in jail if you don't treat him right!"

"So it's true? You're not coming back?"

"Who told you?"

"Javi… I called him earlier and he said I was the reason you were never coming back…"

"I'm not sure yet Kevin… I guess it's another one of the things I have to talk about with Castle. I might go back, but it'll be on my terms. And I know I'm not ready yet… but going back to our conversation, stop talking as if I wasn't there."

"Ryan, what I meant to say before you interrupted me was thank you. For being there when I wasn't. For being a friend no one deserves to have. For having our team's back all the time. You are the reason Beckett is here, with me today. And for that, I'll never be able to thank you enough. So, if you ever want to take Jenny to any place in the world, just let me know when you can take a few days off work and where you want to go and I'll send you guys there."

"There's no need for such a thing Castle. As long as you keep Beckett safe, it's fine by me."

"At least let us take you guys out for dinner. Thursday night. We'll text you the time and place, ok?"

"Sounds good to me if it's ok with Beckett…"

"It is, Ryan. It'd be good to see Jenny! It's been ages since our last get together!" I say.

"It sure has… So, uhm, I guess I'll let you guys go. It's getting late and Jenny must be getting worried…She always wakes up when I'm not in the bed…" He explains.

"Go back to your wife Kev. We'll catch on this the day after tomorrow." I promise him.

"Bye Ryan, you're a great friend." Castle says.

"And you are a great man Castle." He replies.

And with that, I press the End Call button.

It's time to get ready for bed…