CH4
It is now one week later: (Still March)
(RC POV)
Rick had been scared after their first real date. That little incident with the college kid was on his mind. Though technically it was the age difference between them that was on his mind. Rick hadn't really meant to hurt the kid that badly and while his friends had initially offered to support their friend, Rick had managed to show the guys that getting into a fight with him was not going to turn out well for them either. Of course lying on the floor moaning may have had something to do with that.
Still Rick had to admit he was proud of how his friends had been there to support their friend, even if the guy was a little drunk and an asshole. It's just that his time being a Ranger taught Rick what having friends who had your back meant. You supported your squad, team, and division, what have you. You had each others back and Rick missed that a little.
Kate had been quiet all the way to his place and while she did drop off his towel and lock before leaving, he had been worried that she wasn't going to keep coming to the library after that. She had been just way too quiet.
However Kate was there sitting in her chair the very next day when he came in to keep working on his book. She sat with him at his table to eat lunch that he brought back and they talked. Rick however stayed far away from anything too personal.
Rick still owed her ice cream and a swim somewhere, which was something he was still working on. Just where does one go swimming in New York City?
"You owe me an answer to my question, Castle." Kate had pointed out the very next day while they were eating. While Rick was glad that Kate was still here with him, her question wasn't one he was looking forward to answering.
Rick slowed down eating his lunch and took a deep breath. This was going to hurt and it was an old wound that he was sure was never going to heal.
"I think only my mother and maybe a couple of others know anything about this, so I would appreciate it if you kept this to yourself." Rick asked of Kate getting her to nod her head.
"Kyra ran off to England and after that I joined the military. It was looking like a good career move and I was good at it, made my way up to Sergeant First Class in record speed. Might even be an officer by now, but who knows. Might be dead just as easily." Rick noticed the look Kate gave him after that remark and it was touching and sweet of her.
"Even in the military I started writing. When I wasn't deployed or training I was off writing. Took a lot of teasing from my friends about it. Ranger Rodgers the writer. They made it sound like a Saturday morning cartoon, like Dudley Do-Right or something. It was all in good fun so it didn't bother me any. It didn't hurt when I would find them reading it after it came out either." Rick paused and could see Kate smile while she slowly ate her lunch.
"After my accident with my knee, I was discharged for medical reasons. It was about then that I started feeling sorry for myself. My military career was over and writing was just a hobby; I had never really intended to pursue it as a career. Being a writer full time just wasn't stable enough for me. Drilled into my psyche I suppose.
I was sulking and feeling bad about myself, deep into my personal pity party and eating up my bank account at the same time.
Then mother introduced me to someone. She was pretty enough, however mostly she was vibrant and fun and nothing seemed to get her down. She was always on the go, didn't slow down for anything or anyone. You kept up or you got left behind.
Meredith was her name, Meredith Lee. We dated and went to parties, some of which she would bail on at the last second because she would get a call to come in for an interview for a part or commercial or whatever.
Meredith was or is an actress. She was serious about it too. She was going to succeed and have her name up in lights. Everyone was going to know her name.
Problem was she was also shallow and self absorbed. I was beginning to learn there was only room for Meredith in her life and no one else. I had finally made up my mind that while she was fun to be around and the sex was fast and exciting; she just wasn't what I was looking for.
The fun was over and I needed a job and start making money again. It was about now that Meredith showed up at my door screaming at me that I had gotten her pregnant. Being pregnant was going to ruin her career. She was going to lose at least a year of chances and disappear of people's radar. Have to start all over again from scratch.
Next thing I knew she slapped me and stormed out of my apartment and stopped taking my calls and was never home when I went to see her. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do, but my mother had raised a good son, or so I thought anyway. I'd made up my mind that I was going to ask her to marry me.
That's what you are supposed to do right? Offer to support her and give support to your child?" Rick paused and saw that Kate had stopped eating lunch and that Kate was now breathing hard, like she just knew what was coming next.
"I finally caught up to her a couple of weeks later, and was forced to listen to her shriek at me for what I had done to her. She had no intention of marrying me, now or ever. And the baby didn't matter anymore; she had taken care of it on her own.
I was too shocked at the implication and the next thing I knew I was being shoved out of her apartment and having the door slammed in my face." Rick could see the look of shock on Kate's face as tears that she was trying to wipe away rolled down her all too lovely face.
"I made it back to my place pretty much on auto-pilot, not really knowing how I had gotten there. It was hours later and far too many shots of Scotch imbibed that my mind worked out what "taken care of" meant.
Meredith had gotten an abortion and killed our baby, so that her career wasn't ruined.
I woke up the next morning to a splitting headache and a destroyed apartment. Everything I owned was damaged or broken in some way. I had no recollection of ever having done anything except cry while drinking. It looked like a bomb had gone off.
Bookshelves were broken on the floor, lamps, dishes, glass everywhere, nothing was spared.
I assumed it was me that had done it. It certainly sounded like something I would do after working out what Meredith had told me." Rick started blinking back the tears that hadn't come since Meredith had told him. Somehow now they were trying to make an appearance after 2 long years.
"I just, …Never get to see my own child. Never watch it grow up. Never get to hear the word Daddy." The tears were flowing fast now and Rick was finding it hard to breathe. "She killed it before it even had a chance. …Just killed it." Rick didn't know when or how but somehow he had his arms around Kate without ever having to move and simply broke down on her. The first time in two years that he had cried over the son or daughter he would never have.
(KB POV)
They had been asked to leave after the really short fight even if it wasn't Castle's fault. Kate had been having a lot of fun up to when that idiot tried to hit on her and wouldn't back down after Castle showed up.
Kate remained silent during the entire taxi ride back to Castle's building. Kate was going over all of it in her head. Kate knew she wasn't interested in that idiot and his being drunk and making a scene only solidified it for her.
Kate had handed over the stuff Castle had given her and allowed him to call a taxi and pre-pay for the ride. Over pay is what it turned out to be.
Kate had gotten to bed without running into her father and hadn't actually seen him in over a week. Kate knew that was going to have to change soon. He was her father after all.
Come morning she still didn't see him but she did find the alcohol bottles that he managed to bring home and empty. After cleaning up and doing a load of laundry, just her clothes, since she didn't have the nerve to knock on his bedroom door and ask for his laundry.
As usual she made it to the library before Castle did, only now she knew what he was doing, if not exactly where. Only instead of reading, though she did have a book, Kate went over in her mind what she had done yesterday.
Kate knew she had flirted with Castle big time yesterday. She had actually popped a few buttons on her top in order to distract Castle so that she could win. It had almost worked until she felt that she needed to start adding in a little extra sway of her hips. Yeah, she had flirted and teased Castle big time yesterday.
In her own defense, Castle had started it. His arms and chest with his own popped buttons had gotten her worked up and she was losing badly while she fantasized what it would feel like to run her hands over his bare chest and along those arms of his. "Damn it Kate, get a grip."
Kate knew she was smiling wide when Castle had shown up just as she was imagining what Castle was going to look like topless in a swimming pool, and what she was going to wear to get back at him.
Kate wanted to collect on her question that Castle had deferred until after she accepted to go out on a date with him, and was actually looking forward to their next one. "You owe me an answer to my question Castle." Kate pointed out that he owed her.
Kate found out his college sweetheart was named Kyra. She would find out her last name some other time. Why he joined the military because of her. Already knew what happened to his knee.
Then she found out about Meredith and started to feel her own tears running down her face the further into his story he got. Kate was ready to break down crying while she watched Castle fall apart on her.
Kate didn't know how she ended up sitting in his lap with her arms around his neck, followed by wiping away his tears and started kissing his face. Then she pulled his head down into her chest, just above her breasts and let him cry, while she cried with him.
God, what that woman had done to him. How could she just go and kill the child that they had created together without his input. Granted she was the one that was pregnant, but to just arbitrarily kill a baby with no opinion of what the father wanted to do... It broke her heart.
"I'm so sorry Castle, so very, very sorry." Kate went back to kissing his face before planting his face in her chest once again to try and soothe his pain and let him, let both of them cry it out.
Now he had Kate wondering what the child that was never going to be would have been like.
Would he have been a Ranger following in his father's footsteps? Would she have been a doctor or even a nurse? An artist perhaps? Overly tall maybe? A superstar basketball payer? An ace pitcher that was signed by the Yankees? God knows they needed one. Now they would never know. Meredith had killed him or her.
Kate swore she would give that woman what she had coming to her if she ever got the chance. Kate contented herself with cooing into Castle's ear, letting him cry it out while running her hand through his hair. "Now what do I do mom?" God, Kate wished with all that was left of her heart that her mother was here.
It occurred to Kate while Castle was calming down that they were both broken. She had lost her mother and was in the middle of losing her father and he had lost a child that he would never see.
"Feeling better Castle?" Kate asked, after feeling Castle being calm for a little while.
"Yeah, …No, …Maybe a little." Castle talked into her chest. It was now that Kate decided to lift Castle's head off her breasts where it was resting so that she could look at him. "You still owe me ice cream Castle." Kate offered a way out of this.
Kate noticed Castle smiled a little. "Thinking that ice cream solves everything are we?" Castle was back to teasing, so Kate decided he was feeling better.
"Let's find out Castle." Kate got up off his lap and bent down to kiss his head. "Pack your stuff and let's go outside and go looking."
Turned out there was a Baskin-Robbins just over on W 43rd Street. It was here that Kate found out that at least when it came to ice cream, Castle was like a little child. The concoction that he had the girl who was about Kate's age make for him had Kate wishing they had never come.
"Want a taste Kate?" Castle offered up a spoon full for her to taste.
"No thanks Castle, I'm good. However you're not going to be since that mess is going to keep you up all night moaning." Kate countered.
"Suit yourself, but you don't know what you're missing, and I've eaten army rations Kate. Even lived off what you could find in the wild. This stuff is heaven." Castle placed his spoon full in his mouth.
"We'll see Castle, we'll see." Kate didn't believe him.
"Does that mean you're going to spend the night with me so you can find out?" Castle suddenly asked, arching his eyebrows a couple of times. He was definitely flirting with her.
It had Kate stopping with her next spoonful in mid air. How had "we'll see" turned into her spending the night with him in his apartment? "In your dreams Castle." Kate countered. "And maybe mine too," Kate mused as an afterthought.
Kate had finished her ice cream in a hurry, trying to get her mind off of spending the night with Castle at his place. Though it did have her mind back onto what it would feel like to run her hands all over his... "You still owe me a swim Castle," Kate suddenly told him, wondering for a moment just where that came from. She knew damn well it was her desire to see Castle topless and wet.
Kate was sure the look Castle was now giving her had him trying to see her in a bikini or more likely naked. MEN! Not that she had much room to talk.
It had been a week since that day and over lunch. "You want to go swimming tomorrow?" Castle asked her, catching Kate by surprise.
"You found a place?" Suddenly Rick had her attention.
"You can even order lunch and they will deliver it to your chair, table or lounge. You can even learn and earn your scuba diving certificate." Rick was smiling at her, waiting for her reaction.
"Don't you already have yours as part of your Ranger training?" Kate thought she remembered him talking about it.
"I do, and we can do it together. Here or somewhere else." Rick told her.
'Did Castle just ask me to go somewhere with him and go scuba diving? Like another date?'
"That would be nice Castle, how long does the class last?" Kate knew she had the time.
"Two long days, or spread out over a week." Rick just offered her a choice.
"Two days. …Starting tomorrow?" Kate asked, getting Rick to nod his head. "Ok, two days."
Two days of seeing Castle topless and wet while she drove him mad wearing nothing but a bikini. Kate was suddenly looking forward to tomorrow.
Kate had showed up the next day with her bag, only this time it also contained the sexiest bikini she owned. Or at least one she thought was sure to get Castle's attention.
Kate knew she was smiling wide that morning in anticipation of today. Kate also noticed that this time Castle had a similar bag as hers and no extension cord or laptop this time. "Ready to go?" Castle asked her.
"482 West 43rd Street near Tenth Ave." Castle told the taxi driver.
Again Kate didn't recognize the address. How did Castle know these places in just 2 years when she didn't know after 19 years? Maybe she could get Castle to tell her with just a little teasing over the next two days.
"Manhattan Plaza Health Club." Kate read the sign and found the two of them headed for the roof.
Kate watched as Castle paid $35 each to get them in, however it was for the entire day. Then Kate watched as Castle paid even more to purchase the equipment for both of them to take home with them each day and then take with them wherever they went to go diving.
"Castle can't we just rent the stuff?" Kate didn't want to take it home.
"We could but this equipment is some of the best, and what we rent may not be. It's safer this way." Castle convinced her, but she still felt bad about it. "I'll pay you back Castle." Kate knew she had money, she just didn't want to spend it needlessly.
"Not an option Kate." Castle refused her money and it annoyed her.
Then Castle spent still more money to rent a locker for them to put their clothes into. First thing Kate had to do was fill out a medical statement. It was a lot like a medical form she had to fill out at her doctor.
Kate soon found out that for her scuba diving lessons she didn't need a bikini, since Castle had purchased all the equipment necessary. Complete regulator system, buoyancy jacket, wetsuit, tanks and weights.
Kate also found out that slipping into a wetsuit wasn't the easiest thing she had ever done.
Scuba training was in two parts. First was the classroom and pool portion. Second was the "open water" certification portion which consisted of four supervised scuba dives during which a scuba instructor reviewed your skills.
Kate found out as they were leaving that first day that open water to Castle meant traveling to a location to go "open water" diving, with Pan Aqua's help.
"You need to pack a bag for a few days Kate, since we need to fly for this." Castle warns her.
"A few days? Like four days, one for each dive?" Kate was shocked. Then Kate saw Castle suddenly brighten. "That is a good idea. I knew there was a reason why I liked you so much."
Kate suddenly had the feeling she had just opened her big mouth. Still it got her away from her father for a few days, while she thought about how to talk to him and get him some help.
The next day Kate met Castle in the lobby of his apartment building. It wasn't until they were at the counter picking up tickets that Kate found out where they were going for her "open water" dives.
Anse Chastanet – St. Lucia