I'm sure many of you will have to re-read to familiarize yourselves with this story again and for that I apologize. Now that I've got a break in my schedule I am finishing this story. The ending fell apart on me and it took awhile to re-create one that I was happy with. The rest of the story is written, aside from some minor editing and the epilogue. Regardless, It will be updated daily from today on and should be completed by Sunday. Enjoy and thanks for coming back!
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Brief Story summary: Our duo has been keeping their relationship secret, but Gates finds out. She issues an ultimatum, the partnership or the romance and Beckett chooses the job. She is left to grapple with the emotional fallout of her decision as a case arises. The mayor requests that they go undercover to investigate murders aboard a cruise ship. While on board Beckett attempts to manage her emotions and break the tension by seducing Castle into meaningless sex, which backfires on her. They identify their killers and determine that they were hired by the wedding directors at a local, prominent hotel. Knowing that power couples are targeted, the mayor once again asks for their help by pretending to be engaged and planning a wedding, hoping to catch their killers in the act of hiring hit men. Castle and Beckett agree and the ruse begins.
He was certain that the universe was conspiring against him. Surely this was all some cruel joke. Someone up above got a kick out of watching him suffer, and they seemed to be especially entertained when it came to Kate Beckett.
After the incident on the boat things had changed. He couldn't believe that she would resort to reducing what they had to casual sex. It was beyond him that she would have gone there and it made him feel sick, manipulated and so very disappointed in her.
Truth be told, he loved her and he always would. However, at some point he would have to make a mature, healthy decision. If she wasn't willing to prioritize him the way he was her then maybe it wasn't worth hanging around for. It was with this resolution that he informed her that this would be his last case, that working with her wasn't going to work for him anymore.
He just hoped he would have the strength to walk away. It was ridiculous to think that they could just go back to being partners, and he thought she would have figured that out by now. Hell, I don't know what I expected. He thought to himself.
He felt little else than a sense of deflation. He couldn't even bring himself to be mad at her. He was just tired, emotionally empty, and he was done of being the one that fought for them. Maybe I was fooling myself into thinking she felt something she never did. Maybe I just wanted it so badly that I created an illusion…maybe it was in my head.
He would give her credit for trying to open up to him, but maybe it was more one-sided and he'd deluded himself to a point where he couldn't see that. The kicker was that he knew it was too late now. Even if she came to her senses tomorrow, even if she realized that she was trying to do something impossible and came begging for a second chance it wouldn't be enough.
Richard Castle loved her more than he'd ever loved another woman, but he also knew that there was little she could do to make this right. He knew that any future relationship would likely not survive what she'd done. She simply didn't care enough and there was little he could do to change that. She simply wouldn't fight for them.
It was partially in this vein of thought that Castle decided to pull the ring from its home in his sock drawer. He'd purchased it long before, back when they weren't dating yet. He saw it and knew that it was hers, that one day he would give it to her.
I just never imagined that it would be under these circumstances. He wanted to be angry, he really did. He wanted to be furious, to punch walls and scream at the top of his lungs. Anger would have been much easier to deal with, but this sense of emptiness took root instead.
"Castle, where did you get this?" She gave a broken whisper. He knew she was hurting too. He knew she cared, it just wasn't enough anymore. He simply turned from her, too devastated to look at her any longer.
"It doesn't matter anymore." He spoke.
Just get through this last case, get through this assignment and go your separate ways. Lick your wounds in private and move on. He urged himself. He waited for the front door to close, signaling that she was gone before he ventured back into his room.
They made their way into the Wingate Hotel together, hand in hand. She wore a soft, intentional smile on her face and he exuded an air of cockiness. To any outsider they seemed like a happy and confidant couple, in love and excited to tie the knot. To the world, millionaire Richard Castle was on top of the world and wanted all to know it.
Beckett saw the façade he projected, the play boy arrogance that he wore like a shield. She let him do the socializing, smiling and nodding along with him. Afterall, few people could work the socialites like he could. This was his domain.
They were greeted warmly by Alice Reed and Miller Moss, owners of the hotel and their prime suspects.
"Well, I understand that congratulations are in order!" She spoke with an unnaturally high pitched voice, her face coated in makeup and her hair pulled back in a fierce bun.
"I must tell you," she continued, "I am such a fan of your writing, Mr. Castle, what an honor that you've chosen us to share in this special occasion."
Castle gave a broad smile, reaching out to shake Miller Moss' hand. "I'm grateful that you could see us on such short notice." He spoke.
"Well," She spoke, clearly off-put but hiding thinly-veiled contempt with a smile,
"Are we to understand we've got a bit of a time crunch?" She looked meaningfully from Kate's face, to her abdomen and back up again to her face, judgment clear in her expression. Beckett wanted to slap the woman.
Sensing her discomfort, Castle squeezed her and pulled her closer to him, his arm coming around her waist to allow his fingers to graze their non-existent baby bump. "The sooner, the better." Castle informed them.
Kate bit her lip shyly, hoping her discomfort would be taken for happiness as opposed to irritation or embarrassment.
"Well then," the older woman continued, her perfume overwhelming Kate's senses, "let's get down to planning."
The couple nodded, taking their surroundings in and watching the woman's business partner as he took notes on their "wedding".
Miller moss was a tall, stern-faced man who reminded them a bit of Lurch, from the Adams Family. It was difficult to find men that were taller than Castle, but Moss was just that. However, he didn't have Castle's broad frame. He was wiry, bordering on boney with long fingers that swept across his planner swiftly as he listened to the stern woman beside him prattle on about wedding details.
"Well, Mr. Castle," When she spoke she addressed him, paying little attention to Kate, as if she wasn't in the room, "if you had gone anywhere else I'd say your time frame wasn't possible."
She was cocky in her response, "but fortunately you came here, and we make the impossible an everyday occurrence." She spoke with airs, and the smug tone made Beckett want to slap her, murder suspect of not.
"First thing, we need to discuss the size of your wedding party…"
Thus began an overwhelming cascade of wedding details.
It was 7:30 before they returned to the loft, and Kate had a migraine that was nearly debilitating.
"Dear God, I don't remember things being that intense the last time I got married." Castle remarked, causing Kate to raise her eyebrows at him quizzically. It was the first direct exchange the two had encountered in hours.
"Meredith and I got married in Vegas, a quick response to learning Alexis was on the way." He began, "and Gina wouldn't let me have anything to do with the wedding planning." She sat quietly and listened to him, captivated and moved by the weary expression he wore as he spoke, "I remember trying to have input in the music with Gina-just the music, mind you," He looked meaningfully to Kate before continuing,
"She simply brushed me off. She told me that my job was to write the check and show up on the big day."
Kate wasn't sure how to respond, but had to actively swallow back the wave of sadness and jealousy she felt over thinking about his ex-wives, and the anger over how they'd treated him. I'm no better though, am I? She wondered to herself.
She was once again made aware of the weight resting on her left ring finger, reminding her of what she might have had. It wasn't the first time and she was sure it wouldn't be the last that she felt a sting of regret over her decision. Is the job really worth what I am losing? She wondered, not allowing herself to dwell on the thought too long.
"Well," She finally spoke up, "You can have all the input you want in this wedding." She used the opportunity to quickly shift the conversation onto a safer subject, "besides Alice Reed didn't seem to want to acknowledge my existence." She remarked.
"Neither gave any indication that they were interested in anything shady, but I don't suppose they would." He responded.
"No, I don't think they're going to. They've been quite clean in their tracks. I don't think we're going to break this until they contact one of their hit men. That's going to be our break." She let out a sigh,
"In the mean time, I'm going to have to restrain myself from shooting Reed. What a bitch."
"That's just the type, Beckett. She sees me and thinks of my image, she's focusing on where she thinks the money is coming from." Kate nodded, admitting to herself that there were multiple reasons she wanted Alice Reed behind bars, and being a potential murderer wasn't at the top of her list.
Kate stood from where she was perched on the side of the couch, "Well, I know it is early, but I am wiped." She moved towards the stairs, seeking an escape from the conversation before things got tense again.
"You don't have to do that Kate," came his resigned response.
"Do what?" She asked, pretending to not understand weight of his words.
"You don't have to leave. I promise I'm not going to do anything stupid, and I won't do anything that I'll regret either." His eyes were downcast and her heart broke for him. Before she knew what she was doing she reached out to him, caressing his cheek with her hand. Her heart broke as she fought the familiar magnetic pull, one that she wouldn't have thought twice about just a short while ago. Now it broke her heart.
"I trust you Castle. The problem is I don't trust myself. I don't want to hurt either one of us any more than I already have." She pulled away just as quickly as she'd reached out, and was up the stairs and in her room before Castle could see the tears fall.