Jack and Jill 2

CH2

It is now one week later: (March 8, 1999)

(RC POV)

Rick had arrived just out front of the library with his usual carrying items and walked inside and headed for his little alcove that he shared with a young woman. Even today he still didn't know what her name was. Not talking to each other tended to do that.

Unsurprisingly, he found her sitting in her chair reading yet another book. This time he noticed that she was dressed differently. She was still in jeans and sneakers as usual, however this time she was dressed in a button down shirt that had the top two or three buttons undone. As much as Rick hated it, he couldn't help but look at just how much cleavage she was willing to show before he could snap his head and focus. Sometimes it just sucked being a guy.

Rick always wondered if women knew just how much power they had over men? Just pop a few buttons and even the best of them became blubbering idiots, or the opposite-animals. Rick knew that there were a few men that thought they were god's gift to women and should be able to do as they pleased, even to the point of raping them.

Rick could only pray that his guest had never been confronted by one of these. Given how beautiful she is Rick already feared that it was possible that she had. It suddenly brought out his protective mode. Suddenly he cared about his new guest.

Rick went to work typing his new book. He was getting close to being about 1/3 done with it now. He didn't understand why he was getting so much writing done, especially since this had never happened before. It had only really started when…

That thought got Rick to stop typing and take a good look at his female companion. This time he didn't look away when she took a peek over her book to check on him. Her book quickly came back up to hide her eyes, only to drop down for a moment before she raised her book again to hide behind.

Rick was sure that behind that book she was grinning. It had Rick smiling as he went back to typing.

A short time later Rick felt the need to use the restroom. This didn't usually happen since he always used the one in the gym that he went to prior to coming here each day. The gym was always empty early in the morning.

Since his accident he had gotten a little out of shape and while his leg gave him problems he was hoping that with a proper work out each day it would improve. Today he was in a hurry to get to the library on time and had gotten to the gym a little late so he skipped using the restroom at the gym.

It forced him to shut down his laptop and head for the restroom. However as soon as he got up his knee popped and caused him to grunt in pain. Rick shook it off and continued on to the restroom.

When he came back his lady companion was missing but there was a book lying on his table that hadn't been there before. Rick stepped up to the table and looked at the book. It was one of his and it was another oldie if not goodie. "In a Hail of Bullets," Rick whispered softly reading the title.

The book itself looked well used, like it had been read and re-read several times. It had Rick grinning since anyone who could read that book that many times deserved a medal and it also had him looking around for her, however she was nowhere in sight.

Still he opened the first few pages and pulled out a Sharpie, signed it and then pushed it across to the other end of the table. He sat down and went back to writing.

It was almost an hour later and Rick was shutting down to go get lunch when his lovely lady companion came back with what looked like a new book. "She must have finished the other one," Rick murmured to himself.

Still he packed up and left and went in search of lunch. "What today?" Rick stopped out front.

He had done Chinese a week ago, followed by fish and fries, then a cold sub and chips, a BBQ chicken salad, a hot meat ball sub, deep fried chicken with fries, Chinese again but not another rice bowl. "Mexican I guess." Rick made up his mind which told him which way to turn.

Rick got both of them a chicken burrito with rice and beans, along with two sodas, one being diet.

When he got back his companion was still in her chair which made things difficult for him. All the other times she was gone when he came back, just not this time.

Rick put all of it down on the table, plugged in his extension cord, and turned on his computer. Then he pushed her food to the other side of the table. He thought it was a gamble but maybe the food would entice her up out of her chair, to sit at his table and they could do something they hadn't done yet...TALK!

(KB POV)

Kate was beginning to hate her life, hate it a lot. She was being forced to do things all alone. Make decisions that she shouldn't have to make.

Financially it looked like she was going to be okay. The insurance check had arrived and combined with her personal checking account and the trust fund her parents had set up for her, Kate had access to a lot of money, which gave her choices.

Kate didn't know if she was thankful that her father was always unconscious when she cleaned up and left for the day or not. However at least her father hadn't been vomiting all over the living room lately. It also meant that he wasn't awake to yell at her either. The problem was it also meant she was living with her father who wasn't acting like a parent. "And where the hell does he get all this alcohol anyway," she wondered?

Kate spent an hour cleaning the house, dumping what alcohol her father hadn't drunk down the drain, then threw out all the empty bottles, while starting a load of laundry. Kate had just put that load into the dryer when she walked out the front door and headed for the subway that would take her to the library.

It gave Kate some time to think about the library. Kate didn't notice the smile that was creeping onto her face as she thought about how Castle had been there day after day. Today she had brought one of her mother's books that he had written with her this time.

The other one had actually been pretty good and it allowed her to get her mind out of how her life was going. It also had her wondering what to do with her life now.

Going back to Stanford was out. Continuing with law school was out. Going to the library and doing nothing with her life was also out. So just what did that leave her? McDonald's or something. That thought alone caused Kate's smile to fall into a frown.

Back to modeling maybe. She hadn't really liked it, but she was wanted there. Kate had even been offered a spread in a magazine right next to Nicole Kidman who Kate thought was far prettier than she was or ever would be. It just wasn't a life style that she craved. Still it would keep her busy and help money flowing in to pay the bills.

Part of what pissed her off the most was not knowing who had killed her mother and that her calls to the police station were meet with indifference. They had their answer and finding the exact gang member who had stabbed her was near impossible.

Kate decided to wash up and apply her make-up before she sat in her chair and joined Castle in their quiet staring-at-each-other contest. It left Kate looking at herself in the mirror. "God what am I, a 16 year old with a crush on an older boy that I can't have?" Except Kate was 19 now and mostly all alone. "I have to make my own choices. There's nobody for me to count on except myself," Kate told the woman in the mirror.

Castle was already at his table typing when she sat down and quickly finished the book she had been reading, and went looking for a new one. Castle was gone when she got back to the seating area.

"He's just gone for lunch," Kate told herself, wondering what he would come back with today. She was going to have to get up the nerve to actually talk to him soon. To thank him for the lunches he dropped off for her, since they were the only meal she was eating each day. She just couldn't find the energy to eat more often; she noticed that it was beginning to show when she showered that morning. However cooking anything at home just wasn't an option. Hell she didn't even know what her dad was eating or if he even was. Or was he just drinking?

Kate had finished her book. Needing to start another book, she had actually brought one with her, one of Castle's books. Kate placed her finished book off to one side and pulled out Castle's book, "In a Hail of Bullets." Kate flipped through the first few pages and couldn't help but notice that Castle hadn't signed this one.

Was "Flowers for your Grave" the only book her mother had gotten signed? It was now that Kate decided that she had the perfect opportunity to have this book signed, too. Kate placed it on his table and went looking for a new book to read.

By the time Kate was back, Castle was back and her lunch was sitting on his table next to his book. Now Kate had a decision to make. If she wanted to eat or get her book back, she was going to have to approach his table.

Kate placed her new book on the coffee table and just stood there debating what to do.

"I'm not 16 with a crush, I'm 19 years old, and Castle is just another guy. Except that he's not just another guy, he's Richard Freaking Castle and I'm no one Kate Beckett," Kate said to herself.

"Care to join me?" Kate heard his voice-he was talking to her! It got Kate to look at him. He was motioning for her to sit at his table where her book and food were located. "Please, I don't bite. Well at least not in public," Rick said, smiling.

It caught Kate by surprise, was he flirting with her? Lowly little Katie Beckett?

It was enough to get Kate to sit at his table and look at the container that held her food. "It's Mexican this time; if it's too heavy for you I can go get something else," Rick offered.

"I'm sure it's fine," Kate replied and gave Rick a half smile. She pried the plastic top off to expose the still warm burrito, rice and beans inside. It was a little heavier than Kate was ready for, however her stomach started growling about how she was treating it.

"I'm Richard Castle, as you likely already know," Rick introduced himself.

"I know who you are Mr. Castle. ...I'm Kate," she answered back.

"Just Kate," Rick questioned? "Just Kate," she confirms and takes her first bite.

It had Rick chuckling softly. "Well Just Kate, what would you like to know? Ask anything you like," Rick offered.

Kate looked up; was he really allowing her a glimpse into who Richard Castle was? Would he really answer any question she had? She decided on a simple question.

"What happened to your leg?" Kate asked as she continued eating.

"You've noticed that huh? …My leg. To answer that question you need some context leading up to that event. How about after we finish lunch first, while it is still warm?" Rick replied. They sit silently eating their lunch.

Rick collects their empty containers and places them in the bag he got them here in. "My leg." Rick tries to work on just what words to say. "You don't have to tell me anything," Kate said.

"No, I offered and you've put up with me for a week now. I was in college at the time, years ago. I met a woman who intrigued me and we started dating. Only problem was her parents didn't like me. Her father didn't think I could give his daughter what she was accustomed to. Her parents were rich, seriously rich and they could go anywhere, purchase anything they desired.

Her mother thought I was an uneducated fool. I didn't hold my head or my nose high enough. To them, anyone who wasn't equal was lesser," Rick paused as it still rankled him a bit.

"Something happened," Kate guessed?

Rick nodded his head. "I was in love and asked her to marry me. She answered by telling me she needed some time to think about it. …I found out a few days later that her idea of needing time was to go to England with her parents and never come back," Rick informed Kate about Kyra.

"She didn't even…?" My god she was either a coward or totally under her parents thumb, unable to live her own life. She had to live the life her parents chose for her, effectively making her a slave. Definitely not a daughter.

Kate reached a hand across the table to reach for Castle's. "I'm sorry Castle that must have hurt." Kate could almost feel his pain. Rick actually squeezed her fingers before withdrawing his hand. Kate was sure she felt something when he squeezed her hand, there was something comforting about it, something…

"I decided to stop trying to write and change who I was. Maybe I thought I could make myself worthy of her and her parents, or maybe I was just suffering and wanted something else.

At any rate I joined the military and went through boot camp. It looked like I was about to get shipped out so I applied for a different kind of training. I was accepted and sent to Fort Benning in Georgia.

It was a 61-day course and just over 51% fail the test. The first 17 days is considered the Benning Phase. You learn how to be inserted into an area, how to do airborne recon and ground recon, followed by airborne ambush and ground ambush.

The next 15 days is the Mountain Phase. More rappel training, more ambush training, navigation training, how to search for the enemy. How to work in a mountainous terrain.

The following 15 days is the Swamp Phase. Basically waterborne classes using inflatable boats or air drops, gaining your scuba qualification.

The Airborne Phase is next, lasting 15 days. You learn how to drop as a group and form up after you land. It's also where you learn how to drop solo or as a small insertion squad.

After that you have a choice, you can try to be a jump master or a pathfinder or simply graduate. I chose the 15 day of Pathfinder course, which was mostly how to jump and rappel from a helicopter. Be the first to any site, arrange for areas for the troops that follow." Rick did his best to simplify what he had gone through.

"You joined the military?" Kate had never heard of that, just when had he done this, and why wasn't he still in the military? …His knee!

Kate's question had Rick smiling. "E-7 Sergeant First Class, Richard Rodgers of the 75th Ranger Regiment, retired, at your service, Just Kate." Rick salutes and stares at Kate's shocked face.

"You…you were a Ranger?" Kate didn't know much, just that being a Ranger, or in Castle's case Airborne Ranger, meant he was special. It took specialized training and not everyone in the Army could be a Ranger. "What happened?" He still hadn't answered her question.

Rick's smile faded and his hand dropped and Kate's heart sank for what she feared she was about to hear. "When you're not deployed you are on base training. Training followed by more training and when you are done training you get to do still more training.

Rangers are the best of the best. When something happens, Rangers, especially Airborne Rangers are the first ones on the ground or Pathfinder Rangers like I was especially.

We were doing an insertion jump into a tight space. I'm not sure just when things went wrong. It might have been before we even left the ground, it might have been the pilot. All I know was that I was the last one out of the plane.

It was a night drop and I was doing my best to pick up the black chutes of my men when I found them spread out all over the place. A review of the incident placed blame on the weather, the pilot who was going too fast and was off his jump height by 1,000 feet, as well as on me.

The only weather data we had for our site was over 24 hours old and that data was on me.

We all missed the drop point and in my case ended up having my chute snag a tree and rip it open, forcing me to land badly. My knee collapsed and then that same knee slammed into a rock which broke my knee cap.

I underwent a partial patellectomy, the doctor removed the broken pieces of my kneecap while repairing the tendons in the area. It resulted in reduced strength and my ability to extend my leg. I have to undergo a few hours in the gym each morning before I come here to write. Low-impact and non-weight-bearing exercises along with specific weight training exercises, nothing that would cause my knee to absorb shock.

It forced my retirement from the Rangers." Rick concluded with what happened to his leg.

Kate didn't see or feel the tears that were running down her face. "I'm sorry Castle, will it ever get better?" Kate hoped it would. It was now that Kate watched Rick reach across and wipe away the tears she didn't know she had shed.

"I'll never be a Ranger again. I need to keep exercising daily and be careful in what I do, however, yeah, it'll get better. I'll be fine Just Kate." Rick withdrew his hand and smiled at Kate.

That had Kate ducking her head before looking back up at Castle. "It's Kate, Kate Beckett." Kate gave him a half smile.

"Question number two of your three questions Kate Beckett." Rick offered.

Kate opened her eyes and then decided to tease him. "Only three Castle?"

"Is that your second question Kate Beckett?" Rick teased back, getting Kate to slap her hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to screw up one of her questions, not that she knew she only had three.

"Not to worry Just Kate, you can ask another three after I ask my three." Rick decided to see how she would react to that.

"I agreed to…" Kate slapped both hands over her mouth to prevent herself from asking another useless question. But was she willing to answer his questions?

"Not married, no children, no …girlfriend?" Kate added the latter so softly even she wasn't sure she had heard it. Part of her found him wanting to say no to all three and part of her wanted to say yes to the girlfriend part. Kate didn't think she deserved being with him even if they weren't dating.

"Girlfriend?" Rick started grinning. Was she really interested in him? He watched Kate start to blush. Damn him, she would be lucky enough that he would have heard that.

"No, no girlfriend, never been married and, … no children." Kate was sure she heard pain in that last part. Something must have happened.

Kate reached across the table again in search of his hand. "Castle?" Kate didn't mean it as a request that he answer her question, only that she was offering support. It was all she had to offer.

Rick looked like he was staring out into nothing, till Kate finally got his attention and Rick reached out and squeezed her hand. "Have dinner with me tomorrow?" Rick asks Kate. "Come with me and I'll answer your question."

Kate still had his hand. "You mean like a date?" Kate hadn't gone out with anyone since Stanford which seemed like a lifetime ago. Richard Castle was asking HER for a date? Tomorrow night!

Kate looked right at Castle and for the first time noticed that his eyes were blue, a blue type of blue. "Sure." Kate didn't know who had said that, just that it wasn't her, was it? It had Kate looking around for another woman, one who was braver and prettier than her.

Except there was no one but them.

She was going on a date with Richard Castle!