A Convergence of Storms – Part 1
Summary – A post 6x23 fic previously titled Hours Lost Forever. What happens when Castle shows back up after the car crash and thinks the crash happened after the wedding and Kate was in the car with him. Will be 3 parts (maybe more) and 3XK or Bracken are not involved. This looks at some new "old" mythology.
Author's Notes – Thanks for all the favs, follows, and reviews. You guys are awesome.
Disclaimer – Don't own Castle – ABC, and Disney do.
Chapter 3 – Walk a Mile in His Shoes
# # # # # # # # # #
Several intense hours later, Beckett stood out in the hallway, shivering, leaning her head against the wall as she willed herself not to break down and fall to the floor sobbing.
Drs. Black and White were finally able to bring the memory of what had happened to Castle those long hours that he had been missing to the surface and Beckett was still reeling from the experience.
# # # # # # # # # #
The abduction happened just after they had talked on the phone. He was checking his hair in the rear-view mirror and saw a black Escalade behind him. He had tried to outrun it, but the car kept up with him, finally flanking him.
Then an AK-7 appeared out of the passenger window and bullets strafed the front of his car, causing him to slam on the brakes, the car skidding wildly.
"Of all the freakin' days for this to happen," Castle thought as he brought the car under control and tried to make a 180 turn to race back the way he had just come (thanks to the police driving course he had taken), away from whoever was in the Esplanade, but the engine sputtered and died.
He reached for his phone and quickly pressed 911, only to find that he had no reception.
Castle shrank down in the seat as another round of bullets was fired over the roof of the car.
He saw a house in the distance. If he could make it there…
He quickly made up his mind as the doors of the Esplanade opened and four men dressed in black with ski masks covering their faces got out and headed toward him.
This did not look good…
He pushed open the door of his car and started to run, only to fall to the ground as he felt a jolt of electricity go through his body. "Oh, crap," was his last coherent thought.
The next few hours were a blur of questions and pain – questions about numbers that he didn't understand and his own about how many electrical shocks the human body could withstand before it simply gave up and if his man parts would still work if he survived this.
But he had done enough research to know that these men were experts in their field, and as much as it hurt, there wasn't any permanent damage, except maybe when they put a bullet in his brain when they didn't get their answers.
And he would be damned if he gave them any, whatever it was they wanted, so he clamped down until he couldn't stand it and then the screams ripped out of his throat.
He thought they were finally finished with him when they unlocked the cuffs that chained him to the beam in the ceiling and he dropped to the floor in a boneless heap, only to be dragged out of the room and taken into what looked like a garage and dumped onto the floor.
"No one tells Gaston 'no'," said one of the men, pulling Castle's head up by the hair to get his attention.
"Gaston?" thought Castle's muddled brain. "The oaf from 'Beauty and the Beast'? That's not a name that strikes fear into the hearts of men. Volkov, Mack the Knife, Don Vito Corleone, Darth Vader – now those are villain names. But he was ruggedly handsome…" Castle squeezed his eyes shut – no, brain, don't go there.
The man jerked Castle's head so that he could see a car – his Mercedes – how did it get here?
Another man picked up a gas can and uncapped it, pouring the contents into the open passenger window.
As the fumes spread, Castle weakly raised his arm to cover his nose.
"This is a lesson, Mr. Castle. Think about your next response very carefully," the first man said as he flicked on a lighter and threw it into the car.
Castle stared as the flames grew and then his eyes widened in horror – there was someone inside the car slumped in the passenger seat – someone in white – Kate! They had gotten to her somehow.
He pushed himself up and scrambled towards the car, trying to open the passenger door, but the flames were too high and drove him back.
He stumbled back, sobbing, collapsing to his knees as he watched the fire consume the car, destroying his world, his life.
The man walked over to the window of the car and fired two shots into the flames and then walked back to Castle and knelt in front of him, putting his gun on the ground.
"See, we can be compassionate – it can be over quickly. Just tell us what we want to know, Mr. Castle."
Castle stared at the car, tears running down his face, and then looked back at the man and tried to spit at him, but his throat was too dry.
The man let out an exasperated sigh as he stood. "Get the girl," he said to another man standing in the garage.
Alexis! No! Castle's mind screamed. He couldn't protect Kate, but he'd be damned if he let them take Alexis – they wouldn't need to do that if he were dead.
He scrambled for the gun that man had left lying in front of him and brought it up and fired at the men.
In a haze, he ran for the door, waiting for the bullets to rip through his body or head and end his life, but they never came.
# # # # # # # #
Beckett straightened when the door to the room opened and wiped the tears off her face as she turned to face Dr. White. "Why?" was all she could whisper.
The man paused for a moment before answering. "When Mr. Castle was shadowing the agency, he was accidentally given some reports to read that hadn't been redacted. Those men wanted that information."
"But that was almost 15 years ago," Beckett protested.
"They seemed to think he would still remember them. And given his ability to remember minute details, they might have been correct," the man replied.
"Now what?" Beckett asked, her brow furrowing. "Are they still out there? Will they come after him again?"
"We're not sure. Mr. Castle said there were 4 men in the SUV, and 4 men were found at the house. They didn't have phones on them and no phones or computers were located in the SUV, so we think that threat has been neutralized. We can place a protective detail on Mr. Castle for a while – make sure that no one is interested in him." He paused for a moment again.
"But that's not our biggest concern, Detective Beckett," he said, looking at her. "That information still resides in Mr. Castle's head and the idea that he could recall it makes certain people…extremely nervous. So we have a couple of options, none of them ideal of course, so we'll just have to pick the best worst option."
He took a deep breath before starting, the look on his face grim. "One option is to take away Mr. Castle's memory for the last 15 years – wipe it clean, so to speak—"
"No!" exclaimed Beckett in alarm.
"Obviously that idea was vetoed rather quickly," Dr. White shook his head. "Which leaves us with 2 other options and which one we choose depends entirely upon you. We can try to erase the memory of just this event, but that may have unpredictable results. Memory is a tricky thing. We may not erase enough, we may erase too much.
"Or the less invasive option is to leave the memory of the wreck and bury the rest of it, making it more of a nightmare not quite remembered, but that would require that someone steer him away from remembering the event. We both know that if Mr. Castle truly knew what had happened, he wouldn't let it go. He would need to know that his family and friends are safe, and things could go badly for him."
Dr. White studied her. "You worked for the AG office – you know how these things work and there are people who would be embarrassed by what happened if any of it went public."
Beckett's eyes flared in anger. "What gives them the right to have any say in this? After what happened to Rick? What about him – his rights?"
Dr. White looked at her sympathetically. "The power they have and, of course, the piece of paper he signed before he was allowed to shadow the agency. Only his death can revoke it, which is not an option..at this point. Any transgressions are taken quite very seriously."
"Transgressions?" huffed Beckett. "He didn't transgress – if anything, he was transgressed upon."
"Unfortunately, that is a moot point. But I need your decision now," he said looking at his watch, showing impatience for the first time. "We're running up on a deadline."
Beckett ran a shaky hand through her hair, staring off to the side. "Make it a dream," she said finally.
"Are you sure you can do your part, even if it means lying to him?" Dr. White asked.
Beckett nodded firmly. Castle had done it for her to keep her safe; she could do nothing less for him. "Yes," she said, glaring at the man. "I will do anything it takes to keep my fiancé safe."
"Good," he said, nodding back at her. "Then we'll get started. It won't take too long. Why don't you go get some coffee? When we finish, we'll bring him back to the room."
"All right," Beckett said, now subdued.
She watched the man walk back into the room and started down the hall, only to stop when she saw Lanie by the exit door, holding a cup of coffee.
The ME frowned at her. "You weren't in the room and the nurses didn't know where you were," she said as she held out the to-go cup. "I thought you could use some coffee."
"Yeah, the doctors wanted to run some tests on Castle," said Beckett as she bit her lip and then took the cup.
"Kate, what's this all about?" Lanie whispered, concern evident in her voice.
"How much did you hear?" Beckett asked after a minute.
"Enough to know that something else is going on."
"The wreck – it was staged," Beckett said quietly. "Someone wants something that Castle knows. They took him for that. These 2 doctors – they're here to help him."
"And these men, you believe them?"
Beckett thought a moment and then nodded. "I do."
"And you have to keep him from remembering what happened?" Lanie asked.
"Yeah," Beckett said, taking a breath, frowning.
"Kate, I hate to bring up the past, but you've lied to him before and that almost ended your relationship," Lanie pointed out.
Beckett looked at her with tears in her eyes. "Lanie, I have to – the only way to protect him is to make sure he doesn't remember what happened. If I tell him, he'll keep digging until he solves the mystery and who knows what they'll do then. I can't let that happen." She looked at her best friend, pleading. "And you can't tell him either, Lanie – you can't tell anyone."
Lanie looked at her friend in sympathy. "Kate, sweetie, how long can you keep this up?"
"As long as I need to," said Beckett with steely determination. "He'll listen to me. I can steer him away. I can make things right." She looked at the ME. "Lanie, I'm not gonna lose him again."
Lanie nodded. "Okay, then I'm right there with you."
"Thanks," Kate breathed, a slight smile on her face for the first time since the wreck happened.
Lanie put her arms around Kate in a tight hug and then pulled back slightly and wrinkled her nose. "Honey, I hate to be the one to say it right now, but you really could use a shower…I've had a few dead bodies that smelled better than you."
Beckett laughed slightly. She was still wearing the sweats she had put on after taking off her wedding dress and her hair did smell a little like smoke. "Yeah, you're definitely right," she said, glancing back down the hallway and then walking off with Lanie.
# # # # # # # #
Beckett quickly showered and changed into the clothes that Lanie had brought with her, and was toweling her hair dry when the door opened and Drs. Black and White wheeled Castle back into his room and moved him into his bed.
The writer was asleep, but looked more relaxed, more like himself than he had since this ordeal began.
"Detective Beckett, I don't need to remind you what's at stake here," stated Dr. Black.
"I understand," Beckett said quietly.
"Then, let's see how effective we were," said Dr. White. He turned to Castle and tapped him lightly on the cheek several times. "Mr. Castle – Richard, it's time to wake up. Rise and shine."
Castle stirred, blinking his eyes open a couple of times before closing them again.
"That's right," said Dr. Black. "Time to wake up."
Castle grunted slightly and then coughed, raising a hand to his mouth. "Uh – what?"
"Mr. Castle," continued Dr. White, "we need to you to wake up now."
Castle opened his eyes wider, as if fighting through cobwebs, trying to focus on the people in the room. "Uh, what's going on?" he slurred sleepily.
"Almost there," said Dr. Black. "We need you to focus, Mr. Castle."
"I'm focused," Castle responded, blinking several more times and then rubbed his eyes with a fist. "Uh, what happened?"
"You were in an accident," said Dr. White. "Your car skidded off the road..." he prompted.
Castle frowned and then bolted upright in the bed, running a hand through his hair. He looked at the two men and then at Kate, and jumped out of bed to go to her. When the IV restrained his progress, he simply pulled the tubing loose from the machine.
"Kate," he breathed as he enveloped her in a tight hug. "I am so sorry – there was something – a dog in the road – and I swerved to miss it and then I think I hit something. I am so glad you weren't in the car with me," he said as he kissed her head.
Beckett closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him, leaning into him, feeling his strong arms around her. "It's okay. I'm just glad you're okay," she said quietly.
"Well, our job here is done," said Dr. Black.
"If you need anything, we're just a phone call away," said Dr. White, looking at Beckett.
Beckett nodded as the men walked out of the room.
"After everything, I can't believe that happened," Castle whispered into her hair. "I am so sorry."
"Shhh," said Beckett. "It doesn't matter – the only thing that matters is that you're okay."
Castle nodded. "We can redo it – the wedding. We'll do it today – it'll just be a day late."
Beckett extracted herself from his hug and took his hands. "Babe, the wreck happened almost 2 days ago."
Castle frowned. "Really?" he said, rubbing a hand over the stubble on his chin.
Beckett nodded. "Yeah. You were…gone for a while."
"Oh," said Castle as he took a breath. "Well, then it will just be a little late. The marriage license is good for 60 days."
Beckett frowned slightly. "About that – the license was in your jacket and your jacket was in the car. The car caught on fire when you hit a culvert, but you managed to get out. Babe, the car is gone."
"The Mercedes?" Castle asked, slightly perplexed. He hugged Beckett again, resting his chin on top of her hair. "At least it wasn't the Ferrari."
Beckett laughed slightly.
"So what do you want to do?" Castle asked after a few minutes, relaxing the hug and looking at her. "We should be on our honeymoon now."
Beckett took a breath and looked up at him. "Let's go – we can change the tickets and leave tonight."
Let me take you someplace, Castle. Someplace you'll be safe.
"You sure?" Castle asked, frowning slightly at her.
Beckett nodded. "Yeah, I have the time off and you know how hard that was to do. No sense in wasting a good honeymoon just because the wedding didn't happen."
Castle nodded and smiled at her. "Okay. But first, I think I have to get out of here."
"I'm sure we can arrange that," Beckett smiled.
"And I probably should shower and change," Castle said, pulling slightly at the neck of the hospital gown. He really did feel a little overripe.
"I think we can arrange that too," said Beckett as she stepped closer and kissed him.
# # # # # # # #
Dr. Freas was making his rounds when Martha and Alexis arrived at the hospital early that morning and caught up with him at the nurses' station.
"Ms. Rogers, I wish I had better news, but the 2 neurologists have been delayed," the man said. "They won't be here until this afternoon. However, I'd like to make another suggestion. We're just not equipped to handle Mr. Castle's case, so I think it would be better to transfer him to a hospital in New York."
Martha nodded, trying to smile. "Of course, doctor – whatever you think is best." She looked down the hallway to the room her son was in and then looked back at Alexis. "I'll just go check on your father and then call you in."
"Grams," said Alexis, "I'm not a little girl. I can handle it."
Martha gave her granddaughter a fierce hug. "But you shouldn't have to – save it for me when I have to go to a retirement home." She kissed her forehead and then walked to the room, quietly opening the door.
Martha frowned at the empty bed and started to call out when the sounds from the shower hit her ears. Those two had yet to learn the ways of stealth when it came to certain matters.
She closed the door silently and walked back to where Alexis stood.
"So how's Dad?" Alexis asked anxiously.
"Oh, he's up," said Martha with a straight face. "You know, I don't think I had enough coffee this morning and I hear the cafeteria makes a mean cup," she continued as she took Alexis' arm and led her away from the room.
# # # # # # # # # # #