Another Chance
Chapter 2
For a moment, Castle considers telling Kate that he can manage by himself, but only for a moment. First of all, it probably isn't true. He can barely make it to the bathroom on his own, and it's only about 3 feet from the bedroom. Even if he were stronger, he'd still love having Kate with him in her small apartment. It's sweet that she brings him ginger ale and chicken soup - although it's not up to the Soup Nazi' s standards. But it's even better when she just lies next to him, holding his hand. He's looking forward to the time when he'll be capable of something more than first base, but Goldberg cautioned him that it would be a while yet.
At least he talked Mother and Alexis into returning to New York. They spent a couple of days staying in a hotel, but Mother has classes to teach, and Alexis needs to attend school. The friction between them and Kate wasn't making things any easier either. It's not Kate's fault that he stuck his nose into her case, but they, especially Alexis, were clear enough in their view that Kate should have protected him, or better yet never have moved to D.C. in the first place.
To an extent, Castle agrees about the second part. He loves Kate too much to hold her back from her dreams, but from the start, the Attorney General's Task Force was nothing like she'd expected. He knows that she hates the politics and she isn't crazy about being the low girl on the totem pole either. Kate is a natural leader and already suffered through being a rookie once, in New York. No one had bothered to tell her before she agreed to take the job, that the FBI would be putting her through the ringer again.
Rachel McCord was supportive when it counted, but she is as jaded as the rest of the denizens of D.C. She views Kate as an idealist who needs to wake up and smell the coffee, which as he remembers is pretty awful.
Kate's beginning to talk about returning to the N.Y.P.D. She's just not sure that she can. Gates gave a great recommendation to the F.B.I. for her, but also inserted some pretty damning things into Kate's personnel file. One doesn't easily overcome a one-month suspension for insubordination and endangering a fellow officer. Castle could ask Bob Weldon to intervene with the commissioner, but he's not sure Kate would want him to. In any case, the decision is hers. The most he can do is be there for her - if he can ever stand up for more than two minutes at a time.
Kate comes in with a tray, tomato soup this time – with the little oyster crackers he loves to float in it like he did when he was eight. She lightly kisses his cheek before sitting on the edge of the bed. He wishes she wouldn't treat him like he's going to break. A proper kiss, he could handle with pleasure.
Maybe he can get the message across later. As soon as he finishes his soup, he's going to beg for his laptop. He can't reveal any classified information and DOA is about as tired a plot as an author can use, even if it did indeed happen to him. Still, he drew some inspiration for a Derrick Storm story from the whole Brad Parker affair. The fakes and false trails the man laid were effective - almost too effective. If Castle hadn't put himself in Parker's shoes and realized how he'd react if some military asshole had considered Kate expendable, he'd be 6 feet under right now. He actually feels a little sympathy for his would-be killer, more than he felt for Secretary Reed.
Kate is relieved that Rick demanded his computer. He's getting back to the man she knows. He doesn't have much stamina yet. He's fallen asleep in the middle of typing a sentence, twice, but what he is putting on the page is pure Castle.
Now she has to figure out how to be pure Kate Beckett. Countenancing men of influence getting away with blithely declaring death sentences on people who risk their lives for the U.S. is definitely not the way. She wants to see the guilty pay for their crimes, so people like Brad Parker aren't driven by raging revenge to murder the innocent. It doesn't take much to plunge off the cliff. She'll never know for sure, but if Rick had died, she might very well have emptied her gun into Parker.
But what now? If she quits the task force, the N.Y.P.D. still might take her back. She'd more than made her peace with Victoria Gates, but it may not be Gate's decision to cancel her resignation. If not the N.Y.P.D., then what? Private security? It might be an option. She is marrying a multimillionaire, but there's no way she could let Castle be her sugar-daddy. Not only would it be demeaning, but she'd also be bored out of her mind. It will be at least a few more days until Castle is back on his feet. She can put out some feelers. She sub-let her apartment in New York to her cousin Sofia, but she and Castle were practically living together in his loft anyway. Right now, crowded streets, noisy subways, and dodging taxis in crosswalks sounds pretty good.
Castle manages to walk a whole five blocks. He might be holding Kate's arm, but for companionship, not to keep from falling down. He's already putting out almost his usual word count. He's about ready to return to New York. He's just not sure if Kate is going with him. She told him that she contacted Gates but hasn't heard anything back yet about rejoining the New York cops, and she's yet to tender her resignation to the task force. He's willing to give her all the time she needs to be sure of her choice, but what's in her heart it evident to him, if not to her. Her sense of justice is incompatible with the political maneuverings of the Attorney General. And since they've been spending almost every waking hour together, if he goes back to New York without her, he'll miss her even more than when she first left for D.C.
To Kate, walking arm in arm with Castle feels right. It's terrific to see some color in his face besides the red that has been rimming his eyes. Not having him struggling for air after even a short stroll is a relief, too. He is ready to leave, but is she? Receiving no word from the N.Y.P.D. feels ominous. She did get some interest from one security firm, but she's not sure that protecting celebrities from overenthusiastic fans is her idea of serving the public good.
She's more convinced every day that she can't continue to work for the Attorney General. Not only did he give Reed a free pass, but there were photos of them enjoying a football game together. What happened didn't even interfere with their old boy comradery. She will resign. There's no way around it. She just needs to know where she's going first. Maybe Ryan and Esposito have some ideas. She hasn't even talked to them since she lied about everything being fine with Castle. Whether she returns to the 12th or not, she needs to make amends. Those are calls she'll make when the boys are off shift tonight.