A/N: Seems I have stirred up quite the storm. Edit: WHAT HAVE I DONE? I'M SO CONFUSED. I JUST WANTED TO WRITE A SIMPLE STORY FOR ENTERTAINMENT, GUYS. I think the war going on in the comments is providing me with more entertainment than this story is providing the readers. I'm almost scared to post this and read the feedback that it's going to generate, but here we go…

Chapter 27 Broken

Castle couldn't breathe. He felt numb. It was as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room leaving him gasping for air and grasping at straws. The world was crashing down around him but he had no words to even begin to comprehend what the hell had just happened.

How much had changed since he had been gone? What did Kate mean by them not 'belonging' in each other's worlds? A myriad of questions stormed violently in his head as he struggled to come up with the answers. He had to mentally remind himself to breathe and figure out what he should do next.

Still in a bit of a state of shock, Castle slowly returned to the bull pen and plopped back down in his seat next to a now-empty desk. He was so dazed that he didn't even hear Ryan and Esposito trying to get his attention.

"Yo, earth to Castle," Esposito snapped his fingers next to his face.

"Huh?" Castle was jarred from his reverie and noticed the pair greeting him, blinking back confusedly in return.

"Hey, Castle. Welcome back," Ryan patted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah dude, long time no see. Or hear…" Esposito gave him a stern look, crossing his arms in disapproval. "Must've been one hell of a trip to Europe to be gone for so long."

"It was uhh… really busy," Castle stammered.

Esposito picked up on the dazed look in his eyes and hollow voice. He seemed more absentminded than usual.

"Everything all right?" Esposito inquired cautiously, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Umm…" Castle paused. "Actually I just talked to Beckett and she wasn't very happy to see me," he admitted.

"Well yeah, I can see why" Ryan asserted.

"What did I do?" Castle asked.

"You really don't know? You up and left all of a sudden to go all the way to Europe with your publisher, who also happens to be your ex-wife, and didn't call her for two months," Ryan explained matter-of-factly.

"Dude. Why didn't you call?" Esposito chimed in.

"I was being dragged from city to city every week and Gina took away my phone and wouldn't let me use it," Castle whined. The more he gave that excuse the lamer it sounded.

"Seriously? That's your excuse?" Ryan asked incredulously. "Come on dude, you're a grown-ass man. You're telling me you couldn't call your girlfriend back home because your ex-wife wouldn't let you?" he chastised.

"Well when you put it that way it sounds stupid," Castle muttered defensively.

"That's because it is stupid," Esposito confirmed. "There's no way you didn't have the means to call her if you really wanted to."

"You didn't cheat on her while you were over there did you? Is that why you didn't call?" Ryan interrogated.

"What? No, of course not," Castle declared emphatically.

"I saw some of those pictures dude," Esposito started. "Gorgeous women in skin tight dresses. Those sexy foreign accents. A little too much booze one night and one thing leads to another. Mistakes can happen…" he painted the scenario.

"I did not cheat on her," Castle assured. "I'll admit I did get a little wrapped up in the whole fame thing while I was over there. It was a nice change of pace for a while, but I didn't think Beckett would be so upset while I was gone."

"That's right, you didn't think. Consider it from her point of view. Boyfriend leaves for two months, partying with beautiful women overseas… how do you think she felt?" Ryan explained.

Castle considered his point for a moment and groaned.

"Man, how could you do that to Beckett? You said you wouldn't hurt her then you disappear with no contact for two months. That's cold man," Esposito chided him. "I don't know if I can approve you for boyfriend status for her anymore," he added.

He considered whether or not he should tell them about their breakup. The detectives would find out sooner or later so he decided to break the news to them.

"Well you won't have to." Castle's face fell visibly. "She just ended it with me," he sighed dejectedly.

"Oh…" Ryan grimaced. "Yikes. What are you going to do now?"

Castle weighed his options. "I'll give her some space, but I really just need to talk to her again. Do you have the address to her new apartment?"

Ryan and Esposito gave each other a knowing look.

"Yeah." Ryan took a pen and a piece of paper from the desk and scribbled down an address.

"Here" he said, handing the scrap to Castle. "Good luck man," Ryan added skeptically.

"Thanks." Castle slipped the paper into his pocket and left the precinct to go home.

Ryan and Esposito stood there for a moment, considering the situation.

"I'm on Beckett's side for this," Esposito declared. "The guy left her in the dark for two months… she has the right to be mad at him," Esposito made his argument.

"I know… but I still kind of feel bad for Castle. He comes home from his long trip only to be dumped by his girlfriend. That's really harsh," Ryan cringed sympathetically. "Do you think they're going to be okay?"

"I don't know man…" Esposito shook his head. "All I know is if they don't get back together, the next few months are going to be hell for us…"

"Yeah, we're going to be walking on eggshells around them. I hate it when they fight…"

"Same here. And by the looks of it, this one's going to be a brutal one."

Scenarios of heated feuds and angry spats flashed through their minds and none of them led to a happy ending. They could only hope for the best but the future wasn't looking too bright for the writer and his muse.

When Castle returned home there was still classical music humming in the background and candles burning a soft glow. The candles had burned about halfway through their height, sadly lighting the empty table for no one. The soup was going cold and the crepes were no longer fresh.

He sighed, as all these were a stark reminder of the magical night that he was supposed to have with the woman he loved and the harsh reality of their situation. He turned off the music, blew out the candles, and packed up the food into the fridge, having completely lost his appetite.

Castle heard the soft padding of socks against hardwood floor as Alexis came down the stairs to greet him. He hadn't seen her in the afternoon because she had to tutor after school and he had been out grocery shopping. It was the first time he had seen her since he had gotten back.

"Dad!" Alexis exclaimed enthusiastically, wrapping him in a big hug. "I'm so glad you're home. I really missed you."

Rick embraced her warmly, having missed his daughter during the trip. "Oh, I missed you too sweetie." He kissed the top of her head before they parted.

"How was your trip?" she asked excitedly. "I bet France was amazing. Did you get to visit the Louvre? And the Eiffel tower?"

"It was great but no, I didn't get a chance to visit the Louvre," he sighed. Rick tried to put a smile on his face, but all he could manage was a meek grin. It fell short of his usual wholehearted cheer.

Alexis could sense that something was off about her dad. He should be chatting her ear off about all the wonderful things he had seen and done for the past two months in Europe, but all he had to say was "it was great?" Something was definitely wrong.

"Dad, is everything okay?" his daughter asked with genuine concern.

Rick sighed. The sham was up. Alexis had always been quite perceptive towards other people's emotions and well-being, especially in her dad. She could often tell when he was faking his emotions. She had gotten pretty good at telling when he was lying too.

"Actually, no…" he admitted dejectedly.

"What's wrong?" Alexis frowned. It had to be something quite serious to dampen his spirits that much. Had something gone wrong during his trip? Was it something at work?

"It's Kate… She ended things with me. Just like that…" he uttered in a defeated voice, wincing at the painful words.

Of course it was Kate Beckett. Who else could have this kind of effect on him?

Alexis wasn't sure if he knew she moved out or had talked to her yet, but evidently he had. And it sounds like it didn't go well at all.

Alexis knew that Kate had been distant and out of touch with her dad for a while, but she hadn't known that Kate was planning on breaking up with him. Their "arrangement" had come to an end when Kate moved out of the Castles' loft, but she made sure to check in with Alexis daily and still frequented their apartment to take care of her. But Alexis should have known that her moving out meant the end of her relationship with her dad.

It was so sudden too. She didn't even call to let her dad know and now right when he comes home, she suddenly ends it with him? Alexis had seen the candles on the table and the dinner that he cooked for Kate. He was obviously really excited to see her again and having her break up with him out of the blue must have destroyed him.

Seeing the broken look on her dad's face, Alexis started to get angry at the detective.

"What did she say when you talked to her?" Alexis questioned.

"She said something about seeing pictures of me and Gina at those events… and she was really mad about me being gone so long on my book tour. Did she say anything to you while she was here?"

"She asked about you a few times and was wondering why you didn't call…"

Castle groaned. "Gina wouldn't let me use my phone… but it was still my fault for not keeping you guys updated," he finally accepted partial responsibility.

"So how did she end things?" Alexis asked out of curiosity.

Rick frowned at the unpleasant occurrence that was fresh on his mind. "She said that there shouldn't be an 'us' anymore and that we were over."

"That's it? No explanation?" Alexis probed. How could Kate be so heartless as to end things with him without giving him proper clarification?

"Not really…" Rick sighed. "I'm going to talk to her after she's had time to cool off. I need some time to think some things through too."

Alexis moved to hug her dad again, this time with a more sympathetic touch. Rick welcomed the familiar embrace, relishing the bit of comfort it afforded.

"Are you going to be okay?" Alexis inquired with sympathy, observing him carefully.

"Don't worry about me, sweetheart. I'll be fine," he reassured her gently. "Thanks for listening. I really missed you," he hugged her one more time.

"Mmkay. Good night dad." Alexis retreated up the stairs back into her room. She was definitely going to have a talk to the detective about her relationship with her dad. Kate owed it to her father to give him a chance to explain himself. It was the least she could do.

Rick returned to the kitchen to continue cleaning up. After Rick finished putting away the food, he went upstairs to change into his pajamas and wash up. He climbed into his bed alone for the second night in a row, emotionally drained from the events of the day.

He couldn't sleep, however, because all that was on his mind was her. He couldn't stop thinking about ways he could fix this, fix them… somehow make it all up to her. This wasn't over, not by a long shot.

Rick laid in bed, ruminating pensively on what Kate had said to him. "I don't belong in your world, and you don't belong in mine." How could she believe that? Did she really still think of him as some playboy bachelor?

Sure, he still liked being at the center of attention of his parties and adored by his fans, but he never did anything deliberately to betray her trust. He thought that by being with her day in and day out, working side-by-side with her as her partner in the 12th precinct would change her opinion of him and make her see that he was more than the spotlight-loving front he put up for publicity.

Disappointment infused with anger overcame him as he thought about Beckett's misguided judgment of him. After all they had been through together she was still convinced that they couldn't work together or be a couple. After everything he had shared with her—his home, his heart—she still couldn't see past his superficial exterior for the man he really was. How could she still think of him like that? And how could he have been so wrong in his evaluation of their relationship?

He thought about her persistent reluctance to define their relationship and began to doubt things. Had she been using him the whole time? Did she really not have any feelings for him? Did he even truly love her? The last question he could answer for himself. Yes, I love her.

In the past he had gotten confused between sex and love in his relationships but with her, it was never just about the sex. It was about the moments afterwards when they were more intimate with each other than ever.

It was about bringing coffee to her every morning in the precinct, just to see a smile on her face. It was about sharing things with her, from laughter to tears, and being open and vulnerable, knowing that she was his partner in everything and he was hers too. Always. Those were the things that made him want her in the forever kind of way.

Rick considered what he would say to her. He would have to apologize for his behavior and try to explain his case, which was already sounding pretty weak. She too owed him an explanation as to why she suddenly ended things right when he got home. And he had to know whether she even wanted, or ever wanted, a tangible future with him.

This was all he could come up with for now. The rest would have to wait until he confronted her directly in person. After hours of deliberating, his mind succumbed to exhaustion. He was still filled with much uncertainty, but sleep, however troubled, came to him nonetheless.

I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing
With a broken heart that's still beating

A/N: This isn't angst for the sake of angst. I really do have to address the fact that they are completely different people and it would be unlikely for them to work together as a couple (even the real Beckett had qualms about their relationship on the show…). I don't mind the negative reviews, but just CHILL OUT and keep it civil. People were freaking out that Kate didn't let him talk, but it was to give the whole "I love you" thing at the end a dramatic effect and I wanted to save the TWO SIDED conversation for the next chapter. I think the sympathy I was trying to garner for Castle has mistakenly been channeled into hate for Beckett. There's been a lot of miscommunication between them (literally) and they need to work through those issues to get on the same page. Just have a little faith (and patience) for Castle and Beckett (and me) to make things right. Still, thanks for all the reviews (even the bad ones). I take them into consideration when writing about Castle/Beckett's actions and hopefully I can make it better.

Oh and I wanted to address one review in particular: To the guest who thought I commented on my own story under a guest account about some of the other reviews… it wasn't me. I leave my notes here. –facepalm- I promise I'm not writing any of them! I find it quite interesting however that some of the readers read the other reviews too, lol.