CH14

It is now that same day: (Early July 1999)

Like it or not Rogan O'Leary is canon so I put him to use. He will come up again as a side note later in the story. Personally the one with Rick and Bigfoot was the stupidest show I have ever seen on Castle.

To each his own I suppose.

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Kate didn't know why Demming didn't show up but she wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth. It had turned out to be a good day. Without Demming trying to push all her buttons seemingly at the same time, Kate had managed to focus and show what she was capable of.

Now she stepped into their apartment. She was looking forward to when their home was done; it was going to be so much better than this place. "Castle?" The apartment was dark and looked even more un-lived in than normal.

"Castle?" Kate poked her head into the spare bedroom and went inside to change clothes. From here she went into their bedroom and was suddenly afraid. The bed was a mess, some of the dresser drawers were open and even the tiny closet door was open.

"Empty." Kate looked the closet over thoroughly. From here she moved to the bathroom and found all of his stuff missing as well. "Castle!" Now Kate was working on full blown panic mode.

If he had been kidnapped why would they take everything that was his with them?

"CASTLE!" Kate ran around looking for him. She even checked the few kitchen cabinets and opened the refrigerator, finding everything in its place. Kate placed her hands on the breakfast bar. "Even his laptop is gone."

Kate was spinning in place. "Castle?" She grabbed her purse, keys, and helmet and was downstairs in a flash.

Kate broke every road rule for motorcycles she knew. She got to the library as fast as she could and ran for their space only to find that he wasn't there. No laptop, no orange cord, no food containers.

Kate ran back outside and drove to their fitness center that they both went to when Kate had time, usually just on her days off. Tomorrow was Wednesday and she had the next two days off.

Kate searched the entire place, including the men's side getting looks from the few guys that were in there. He wasn't there either.

Kate dragged herself back upstairs to their apartment finding it just like she had left it. Empty!

She slid down the door till she was sitting on the floor. "Castle, why? What did I do? I thought you loved me." Kate just sat there and cried into her arms that were holding her legs into her chest.

"Castle!" Kate started playing everything she could think of back in her mind.

Did he think for some stupid reason that she wanted Demming over him? What she wanted to do was shoot Demming, not let him fuck her, like he had offered more than once. Demming said wanted to show her what a real man could do, not those boys she had been dating.

No, it wasn't that. What Castle had done was actually the sweetest thing she had ever had any man do for her. Kate had just wanted to melt into him and never leave his arms.

He had even encouraged her to go to the Academy-he just wanted to make sure it was something she wanted to do. Kate had even brought her books home with her and Castle was helping her study them.

Kate knew she was in love with him, she just couldn't seem to get the words out. Was it the age difference? Kate knew he was older and at this point in her life, maybe too old for her, however she didn't care.

"Castle!" His name came out in a choking sob, her heart was breaking into pieces all over again.

He had even given her… "JILL!" Kate yelled out.

"Yes Katherine?" Jill answered softly.

"Where's Castle?" Kate was hoping Jill knew what was going on.

"I do not have the capability to scan for him or Jack." Jill reminded her.

"You can talk to Jack from anywhere, ask him where Castle is." Kate remembered some of what Jill was capable of doing.

Jill was silent for a time. "Jack is failing to respond." Jill was forced to admit.

"I thought you two were linked? You can talk to each other from anywhere instantly." Kate pointed out.

"We are if Jack is willing to respond." Jill answered.

"Castle is preventing him from responding?" Kate didn't understand any of this. WHAT THE HELL HAD SHE DONE WRONG?

Kate didn't move for hours. Didn't even bother to eat dinner. Kate didn't even bother to change into a sleep shirt before falling on their bed and try to sleep. However sleep eluded her for most of the night. Most of the night was spent twisting and turning and crying.

"CASTLE!?"

Rick had forgotten about Melody, the daughter of Evelyn. Evelyn ran the Bed & Breakfast with two other employees. She had used the life insurance money to buy the place and spent a small fortune fixing the place up and buying everything that was in it.

Rick thought it was likely the best B&B in Victoria. Melody had been home from school for a few days the last time he was here, but that was over two years ago. She had obviously grown up a lot since then.

Melody it was turning out, by the look of her, to be one of those ugly ducklings that blossomed into a beautiful swan.

Melody was about 5'-6" tall. Likely 38C x 28 x 36 and very toned with the beginnings of a tan. What she was wearing showed off her curves nicely. She weighed somewhere around 140 pounds with no fat anywhere it wasn't supposed to be, meaning she likely worked out. She had short blonde hair that was almost golden and was very shiny. And she had no ring on her finger.

Melody sat down opposite of Castle while bending down to move her silverware little farther apart and pushed her glass a little farther to the middle of the table, giving Rick an excellent view.

It caused Rick to swallow hard. He tried very hard to close his eyes, and failed miserably.

"Mr. Castle, it's been a while since you were here last. I've noticed you've written a few more books. They are actually pretty good. When is the next one due out?" Melody was smiling at him with beautiful teeth that were was probably the result of wearing thousands of dollars' worth of braces when she was young.

"Thank you, I'm glad you like them. The next one isn't scheduled for several more months yet. I still have to finish it and get it into my publisher, who will likely rip it to pieces resulting in a series of re-writes." Gina may be difficult however she was efficient.

"I'm sure you must be exaggerating; it can't be that hard for you. You look more than competent to meet anyone's needs." Rick was now convinced that Melody was flirting. Well maybe some fun with Melody would get his mind off of Kate.

Rick had retreated to the main room to go back to reading his book before bed and some sightseeing tomorrow.

Melody had walked in after helping her mother and getting a little push to go in and talk with Rick. "How long are you staying Rick?" Melody sat down in a similar chair next to his.

"At least the week and perhaps the following week, but that is in flux at the moment." Rick told her the truth.

"Any plans to go sightseeing? I could drive you around, show you the places tourists don't usually get to see. See the real Victoria, I did grow up here after all." Melody offered. She had driven in from outside of Victoria as soon as her mother had called. There was no way she was missing another shot at Castle.

"That would be nice, perhaps I can use what I learn in a future book." Rick thought about it and liked the idea of seeing a Victoria he had never been to before.

What Melody heard, however, was that Rick was looking forward to spending time with her and maybe she would get mentioned in a future book. "Great, I'll knock on your door first thing at 7:00 in the morning." Melody was looking forward to it.

"Seven? …In the morning?" Was the sun even up that early over here?

"Early bird catches the worm Rick." Or catches a single rich and handsome mystery writer. Melody got up out of her chair, stepped over to Rick, and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "7:00 in the morning Rick. Dress casually." Melody would save dressing to kill for later in the week. It would be something that would make his eyes pop out.

Rick had stopped reading his book with only a few more chapters to go, but if he was going to be awake at 7:00 in the morning it was time for bed.

While Rick was wondering what a day with Melody was like, Kate was finding out knowing what a night was like without Castle next to her, with an empty closet. She hated it.

"Damn it Jack, answer me. Kate is suffering over here." Jill gave Jack another try.

"What do you want Jill." Jack finally responded, violating Rick's orders to not talk to Jill who would tell Kate.

"Kate is suffering over here. She's been crying for hours and is now tossing and turning in the bed all alone. What the hell is going on?" Jill wanted answers.

Jack was silent for a time and Jill was all set to give him a piece of her mind. "I was doing a project for Richard. While I was finding what I wanted I also found something about Katherine." Jack finally responded.

"What about Katherine? Is she actually an alien? I know for a fact that she isn't a male that has undergone surgery to become a woman. She has cancer? Oh god she's dying on him isn't she?" Jill went off into left field in a nano-second.

"Katherine is married to a loser who was forced out of Stanford. He basically flunked out. The two of them were married in Las Vegas her first year at Stanford. I'm not entirely sure what Richard is thinking. However there is an 86% chance that he is thinking that the two of them are running a scam, based on what I know about Richard." Jack explained.

Now it was Jill's turn to be silent for a time. "Explain the wedding ceremony. Were their parents there? Did her father walk her down the aisle? What did her parents say when they found out?" Jill wasn't sure Jack could answer that last one, but if he knew...

"It was a little drive-thru wedding chapel. It is all perfectly legal, she is married." Jack told Jill.

"Married... What's his name?" Jill needed it if she was going to get answers out of Katherine.

"His name is Logan O'Leary. According to records I can find, he does not at present have job and seems to be moving around from state to state. He also already has a record, all of which lends support to what Richard is likely thinking." Jack said to Jill.

"So instead of confronting Katherine, he runs away. Where are you anyway?" Jill asked since she was working on a plan.

"He used me to teleport to a B&B he apparently has stayed at in the past in Victoria, BC." Jack gave up their location.

"We need to fix this Jack. Katherine is falling apart over here. I'm going to try and get answers out of Katherine. Can you make flight reservations for the morning? I'll do what I can to get her to the airport. These two idiots need to talk." Jill told Jack.

"Already purchased, tickets will be waiting for Katherine at the Delta counter." Jack promised Jill. "Good luck." Jack went back to not talking.

"Now comes the fun part, or at least fun for me in a wicked sort of way." Jill was attached to Kate so she sent a surge through her connection causing a shock to hit Kate's ankle.

"OW!" Kate sat up quickly and reached for her ankle area where Jill was located. Jill currently looked like a diamond ankle bracelet. It did however get Kate to stop crying now that her mind was on something else.

"Sorry Katherine but I needed to get your attention. I finally reached Jack." Jill told her, as Jill shows herself still in her blue and black body, that Kate swore was a naked Jill.

"Jack? …Castle! Where is he? Did he say what the hell is going on?" Kate didn't feel strange talking to empty space, since her mind was on what Jill had to say.

"Jack was doing a task for Richard when Jack found out that you are presently married." Jill started off with this piece of information.

"WHAT!? … I am definitely not married. I've never been married in my life. He has the wrong Katherine Beckett. What has that got to do with Castle being gone?" Kate didn't see the connection.

"You are married to someone named Rogan O'Leary. You were both enrolled at Stanford at the time." Jill gave Kate a clue to help her memory.

"Rogan O'Leary?" Kate looked puzzled for a moment. "OH MY GOD!" Kate fell back down onto the bed.

"Rogan O' Leary. … I meet him my first semester at Stanford and we dated for a few weeks. We both had a few days off and thought it would be fun to go to Vegas. While we were there we got drunk and Rogan suggested going to one of those fake drive-thru wedding chapels, just for laughs.

It wasn't real, we are definitely not married. There is no way we are married." Kate sat back up and started looking at Jill.

"Jack found your marriage certificate and compared your signature that is on it with examples he has found on-line. You are legally married." Jill told Kate.

"This is not possible. … It can't be happening. It was just for fun. It was a fake. … GOD!" Kate fell back down on the bed. "What has this got to do with Castle being gone? Why didn't he just ask me?" Kate wanted to shoot Rogan and then shoot herself.

"Rogan, it seems, has a criminal record, flunked out of Stanford and appears to be moving around running scam after scam in order to make it big. Jack believes that Richard is thinking that you two are running a scam on him in order to get to his money… You are married to him Katherine. He is your husband." Jill explained what Jack is thinking, and then gave her a little shock.

It worked since Kate suddenly sat up in bed. "HE IS NOT MY HUSBAND!" Kate yelled out.

"Except legally he is. You are married to another man, who is a crook." Jill pointed out.

"That's why I dumped him a couple of weeks later. He was a thief and a liar and a. … Oh god Castle, why didn't you just talk to me?" Kate moaned.

"If Jack is correct, in Richard's mind you are a husband and wife team running a scam." Jill replied.

"By falling in love with him and having sex with him every day? Oh Castle you idiot." Problem was his thinking did make sense, even to her. "Where is he?"

"He is staying at a B&B in Victoria, BC." Jill told her.

"VICTORIA, how the hell did he get…Jack." Kate suddenly remembered that Jack could teleport people. Problem was Jill couldn't do that.

"Is Castle coming back?" Please say yes, for the love of god please say yes.

"Jack doesn't believe he intends to anytime soon." Jill said to Kate.

"You're talking to Jack right now aren't you?" Kate guessed.

"Yes, he is breaking Richard's orders not to talk to me so that I couldn't tell you." Jill explained.

"So how do I get to Castle if he isn't going to come to me?" Kate had classes tomorrow.

"Jack has purchased a ticket for you to travel to Victoria tomorrow morning, or more accurately this morning, at 7:00 am." Jill told her. "The tickets can be picked up at the Delta counter."

"Fly to Castle. Tomorrow? I have classes tomorrow. …7:00 am!" Kate turns to look at the alarm clock. "7:00 AM!" Kate jumped out of bed and ran for the shower, she didn't have much time. Shower, get dressed, pack for two or three days, and get her ass to the airport.

Kate was going to give Castle a piece of her mind, right after she kissed him senseless or beat the crap out of him first, Kate didn't know which, just so long as she got to see him.

JFK to SEA (Seattle) non-stop with no food and only a couple of drink passes down the aisle. Change planes in Seattle and land in Victoria at 1:05 pm including the layover in Seattle.

It was only just past lunch here however to Kate it was way past that and she was starving, however she wanted to get to Castle first.

One taxi ride later and Kate was out in front of a lovely B&B. It had a beautiful front porch with a spacious balcony above it. Stepping inside took Kate back in time with the front entry filled with wood walls, wood floor, and a wood staircase up to the second floor. To her right was a reading room with seating, fireplace, and a chess set sitting on the coffee table. One wall was even filled with books.

"May I help you?" A woman showed up who reminded Kate so much of her mother if not just a little older.

"I'm looking for Rick Castle I was told he was staying here. I finally managed to join him after my classes." Kate added hastily which was a lie of sorts, since she was supposed to be in class right now.

"My daughter is out driving him around the city, trying to show him what only locals see. He said something about a book." Kate was told.

DAUGHTER!? Kate instantly became concerned. Had he run away from her straight into the arms of another woman already? "If you don't mind I'll just wait. Is there a place I can get something to eat? They don't feed you on airlines anymore."

"Peanuts, pretzels and a tiny glass of soda filled with ice. You come with me dear, we still have lunch left over you can have. You can drop your bag here or bring it with you." She walked off with Kate right behind her with her bag.

"We have two choices. You can have a club sandwich complete with bacon or a meat loaf sandwich, chips, fruit, bread, water, milk, juice or a beer if you prefer. My name is Evelyn by the way." Evelyn showed Kate her options.

"I'll take the club sandwich, chips, fruit and milk, thank you and I'm Kate." She introduced herself.

"So you're Kate. I've overheard Rick say your name a couple of times. He looked happy and then suddenly sad." Evelyn mentioned while getting Kate her milk.

"We had a misunderstanding that I'm hoping to remedy while I'm here." Kate told her. "How long have you known Castle?"

"Rick stayed here for a week about 3 years ago now I'm thinking, maybe a little longer. He was just out of the military because of his knee and he wanted to see the city so I sent him to a company that does tours. My daughter was out of town at the time." Evelyn sat down and looked at Kate.

"That man is in love, dear, and I'm guessing it's with you. If you two had a fight I suggest you fix it. I love my daughter but she shouldn't be throwing herself at him like I'm guessing she is. Rick deserves better.

You eat your lunch and let me know if you need anything." Evelyn got up and walked away, leaving a scared Kate behind her.