Something Old, Something New
by Castlefan6
A/N: By Request, PRE-Series Hookup, SEQUEL to Diminished Recall. Picks up exactly where that ends. COMPLETELY AU except for the conversation that prompted this and the use of some character's names. For CeCe, Friend, and Co-Writer with Pen2Paper.
I don't own Castle; I use the characters for amusement purposes only
I hope it's close to what you wanted.
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Chapter 1
Outside Beaumont Hotel
FROM DIMINISHED RECALL
"Do you still love Cheeseburgers from Remy's?" she asked, as Rick laughed,
"I have them on speed dial, would you like to get a burger and a shake?" he asked,
"Well, maybe a burger and diet coke, I still have to wear this dress in three days," he laughed at the face she made,
"It's a deal, do you want to change into something more comfortable for tonight, knowing me, I'll be the one to spill something on the dress, I think there's been enough surprises for one wedding." He said,
"Sure, would you like to come up, it won't take me but a few minutes, "she said, as he took her hand,
"I'd love to,"
Ten minutes later they were crawling into a cab headed to Remy's for a cheeseburger and some more conversation. They had a lot of catching up to do, and all the time in the world to do it, past relationships had truly faded, and he had a very diminished recall of ever being in the day-to-day with either of the two ladies. It was time, time for him to be happy.
Rick was silently thanking the universe that this lovely young lady, even though she probably needed glasses, saw something deep inside of him, enough to make her carry a torch all these years.
"Rick, may I ask you for a favor, I know it's a big one, and well, it's not like we have just met, I mean, I"
"Laurie, do you want me to escort you to Kyra and Greggs' Scaled Down version of their wedding in three days? If that is what you're trying to ask, I would be honored, and just so glad you could find a way to vocalize what you wanted. I've thought about it since Kyra made me promise to come, and I was hoping, well"
She looked down to her lap, where their hands had come to rest, her face blushed, a trait that Rick loved about her, and suddenly he thought, "Oh God, I jumped the gun, that wasn't what she wanted"
His thoughts and emotions were put on hold as he felt her drop his hand, but a moment later it and her matching hand had coupled his face, turned it toward her, and kissed him so gently and sweetly, that he didn't want to break the contact. A long time, well for a first kiss nothing was said, nothing had to be, the body language spoke for them both.
"I'm sorry Rick, I mean,
"Laurie, please stop" he placed his one finger across her lips, "Thank you for doing what I didn't dare to do. Hell, I've wanted to kiss you since I first saw you again, you're beautiful. I thought you would think I was a CAD, just seeing my ex, your best friend, and trying to kiss you,"
This time it was she who shushed him and placed her fingers over his lips, "No, no more talk like that, let's just let our feelings show each other how and what we feel, OK?" she smiled, then kissed him again,
"Rick, we were all kids in college back then, and hell if anything I was a borderline stalker of you and K, I mean as long as I got to see you, it didn't matter that you were in love with her. I know that sounds crazy, but what can I say, I had it, well have it bad for you" She smiled, and her eyes twinkled,
"I was the fool, I mean, I should have seen the signs that Kyra was pulling away, but well, I guess we see what we want to when we think we're in love," he said,
"Think you're in love, Rick? I was there, you idolized her. Hell, half the girls on campus would have sold their families to have you treat them as you treated her, I know I was one of them" she said, a small tear appearing in her eyes,
"Hey, when you left, well you know how things had started to go downhill for us the last year you were in the dorm, but it got even worse. I know now that Sheila was behind it all, and as I told K, she did us a favor, we wouldn't have made it after college. She was too driven, and I was too passionate about what I wanted to do, so it was best it ended when it did. She told me you called and bitched her out for over an hour from UCLA." He smiled,
"She told you that. I mean, I did, but "
"Hey, it's OK, she also told me that I was too blind or stupid to see the one girl that loved me for Rick Rogers, I didn't have to be anyone or anything else to you. She asked me if I was truly on the market to call you, BUT not to break your heart." He said, slowly,
She smiled, "K was my best friend, hell is my best friend, I can picture her telling you to give me a shot, that's Kyra. I hope she will be happy with Gregg, I mean, he's so different, and I haven't been around them much, just phone calls, face times, and around the Holidays." She said,
"So, Rick, is this a sign that"
"If you want to know if Lanie and I are over, we are, and we did manage to part as friends. I would NEVER give anyone false hope, I know guys use the line all the time to get what they need physically, but it's not right, never has been." He said softly, regaining grip of her hand.
"I knew you would never cheat; I told Kyra, she had the one boyfriend who would go down with the Titanic rather than leave her, you were that faithful. Maybe that's why I had to transfer, I mean, each year I would tell myself that I was going to find someone new and stop fantasizing over my best friend's boyfriend of years, every year I fell deeper and deeper for you until I had to run." She said with a sad look on her face,
Rick turned it gently, kissed her sweetly, "Hey remember we were kids. That was then, this is now." Just as they arrived at Remy's, he smiled and sprang out of the cab to open her door. He guided her into the restaurant, one hand on the small of her back that sent shivers up her spine, and to a booth in the back where it was private.
"Remember Rick, I have to wear that stupid dress again in three days, so we need to think of a way to burn these calories off," She teased,
"How did you burn them off before today, Laurie?" he asked making her blush,
"No, not that way, I know where your mind went but it was my Treadmill with the IP Connection to Europe's famous landscape. It made running less boring than when you do it by yourself." She said,
"If I knew you were a runner, hell, my building has a complete gym in the basement, no one uses it but me, and occasionally, Alexis, my daughter. Do you want to check it out, after we eat, I mean I have plenty of room, no funny business I promise. I know how much I have grown to hate hotels, even 5-star ones, they always seem so lonely" he said,
"That would be nice Rick, I mean I live about an hour or so away, so I chose to stay in the hotel, never thinking the wedding would turn into as long as they had booked the honeymoon for" she smiled, comfortable now talking about Kyra and Gregg, knowing that Rick felt the way he did.
"Tell you what, how about we enjoy our meal, then stop and check you out of the hotel, I mean if you want to, we have plenty of room, and my teenage daughter does a great job chaperoning her old man," he laughed,
"I would like that Rick, it sounds so much better than calling for room service for one, and going to the gym and hoping some creep doesn't make lewd comments, are you sure your daughter will be OK with it?"
"She's a sweetheart, she just thinks it's her job to defend Dad, rather than the other way around." Their food arrived and there may have been some stealing of fries from one plate to another, there was a lot of laughing and enjoying the evening.
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Lanie's Apartment
Same Time Frame
Lanie had just gotten home after performing the complete autopsy of the Bridal Party Corpse, as they were referring to Sophie Ronson. How the hell had Rick arrived at the conclusion that he had? A Titanium tie tack, the victim was strangled with a tie, and then shifted that information to the groom's uncle? He never ceased to amaze her, and even if she knew today was the last day she would ever be in his arms, she still relished the few moments he had held her close.
She was happy to see him, did it hurt? Of course, it did, but it hurt less to see that he hadn't fallen back into the charms of one KB, but rather the sweet girl from college, Laurie Hill. She had almost forgotten Laurie, but back then if you saw Kyra, you always saw two other people, Rick and Laurie.
If she were being honest with herself, she hadn't contacted Rick when she moved back to New York ten months earlier, because she knew they would meet, and it would be over, forever. She had tossed him aside, then put him behind others, for so long that she began to take for granted he would be there for her. Well, he was, but not romantically, not anymore.
She was sad for her stupidity, but happy that Laurie was able to coax the original authentic Castle smile out of him, and she did it in a short amount of time. If Rick was happy, that's all that mattered. Now she just had to figure out a way to be happy alone.
She knew that he wasn't in the game to make friends or follow Kate Beckett's orders, that girl had no idea of what she was dealing with. She knew that Rick, Roy, and Mr. Mayor shared experiences, but she didn't know how deep they went. He never spoke of his time in the service, not even when she tried to bring up how sorry she was for writing the Dear John letter, he would change the subject.
She knew that the only reason he helped on the investigation was his loyalty to his friends, Roy and Mayor Weldon, who owned part of the hotel where the murder occurred. That would be late-night gossip and fodder for his opponents for months in his upcoming re-election campaign.
She hadn't witnessed it, but apparently, Beckett made a fatal flaw in judgment when she attempted to grab his phone, leaving her with a severely pulled muscle in her shoulder that would remind her for a few weeks. She was still getting to know the Detective, some days she loved her as her best friend, and at the drop of a dime, she would piss her off so badly she didn't want to speak to her. Beckett was stubborn, headstrong, and frustrating; that was on her good days.
Rick had always been a gentleman to all the ladies, unless they attacked someone he loved, or intruded into his space. She knew that Kate's partner, Esposito, was close to getting his mouth closed for a few months, but something about Rick had frightened the hell out of him.
She knew that Rick had spent time in the Marines, and wouldn't discuss anything to do from the time he left until he returned, after spending several months in a hospital in Germany. That was as close as she came to ever learning of his service experiences, the time she spent by his bedside when he had been injured so badly.
That incident bonded her with him, and he with her mom and dad. It was easy to love him, easy on the eyes, zero ego, but, oh hell just say it, you know he wasn't the one forever. Down deep he knew it as well, but was too polite to break up with you, so he let you do it. Once again, taking the blame for something, not his fault.
Well, if he was happy, she thought as tears fell and she fell across her bed. No matter what, love sucks when you can't control your feelings. It was perfect on paper, but as he always said, "We don't live our lives on paper, just the characters in my book are the only ones who do. I can control the universe with them, in real life, I can't control anything."
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Three Days Later
Beaumont Hotel
Smaller Ball Room
Rick was at the one place he never thought he would ever be, at his first real love's wedding, to another man. The only caveat to the event was he had spent almost the entire past three days with the Maid of Honor, Laurie Hill. They had spent most of the waking, and some of the non-waking hours together.
FLASHBACK
It started when he brought her home from the hotel to meet Alexis and Martha. She had immediately won over both of the ladies with her genuine answers and self-deprecation. She admitted to having almost been a stalker to Alexis when she recounted times, she would find any excuse to tag along or insert herself with Kyra and her Dad.
"You thought my Dad was hot?" Alexis asked, scrunching up her nose,
"No, Alexis, I thought he was the only man in the world. God, I don't know how Kyra didn't see how madly in love I was with her boyfriend, I mean"
"Maybe it was because she wasn't as in love with him as you were Laurie," Alexis just stated,
"I never thought of it that way Alexis, I mean, I was totally in a love haze, so bad that I had to transfer my last year to a new college. I loved Kyra, she was my best friend, but I was getting to a point where I wasn't sure I could hold back anymore. I knew your Dad would never cheat, one of the few men on campus with morals, he's a great human Alexis, and I can tell you love him deeply."
"You know how kids complain that their parents don't understand, well, Dad does. Sometimes he understands too much and can tell me what is going to happen before it does and of course," She smiled,
"You're a teenager Alexis, if you didn't think your Dad was blind to the world, you would be the first," she laughed,
"I just can't picture Dad as a hottie on campus" Alexis laughed
"Well, to me he was and still is. I'm sorry, I mean"
"Laurie, if you don't tell me, my Dad will. He wants to make sure anyone, and there hasn't been any female in this home, other than the woman who gave birth to me on two rare occasions, and Lanie, years ago, and I agree. I know even if I acted like a spoiled brat if he felt he was doing the right thing, he would act on his heart. You know his saying, I'm sure, 'The heart wants"
"What the heart wants" Laurie finished, and smiled, "My heart wanted someone I couldn't have, not without hurting my friends so I left." She said sadly,
"I wished you had stayed Laurie, I'm sure you would have been able to help him. I guess from what I heard, even though they try to keep that stuff from me, that he took her leaving hard." Alexis said,
"I heard about it, and well I called K up and"
"So, it's true you yelled at her for over half an hour long distance" Alexis laughed,
"Well, it was more like across the ocean, and the phone bill took my whole month's allowance, but I told her, if she was going to do something like that why didn't she tell me before I transferred schools and it was too late to transfer back." She said, still sad, "Then I tried to find out what happened, I knew Lanie had picked up the pieces, but I couldn't find out where he was living." She said,
Alexis looked around, and said quietly, "He joined the Marines and did some crazy stuff, he almost got killed. That's why he always wears a T-shirt in the pool, to hide the scar where he had several surgeries."
Laurie gasped, "Oh my God, the rumors are true, he spent a long time in the hospital in Germany, and nearly died. I noticed one small tattoo on his left wrist, it wasn't until his Rolex slipped a bit and the band slid up his arm, that I noticed it. All I know is when that Spanish detective with Beckett saw it, he turned almost white as a sheet. After that, he never said anything smart around your dad again." She said,
"Laurie, I've seen it, when I was younger, I asked what it stood for, and he just said, for some guys he used to hang around with, who took care of things. He never over-explained anything, and when he was done talking, well."
"Yes, I've seen it. When your dad has had his say, it won't do anyone any good to ask him any more questions. Alexis, I hope you don't see me as some groupie, I mean,"
"Laurie, I see you as a young lady who had the courage and conviction to walk away from the man she longed for, to keep from hurting her best friend. "That's not a groupie, that's what a true friend does" She smiled as Laurie hugged her. Rick walked in and asked "So what are my girls talking about, more of my secrets"
"Dad! It's girl talk, and not every conversation is about you, we do have other interests" she kidded him as Laurie squeezed her hand.
Present Day
At the Ceremony
The music started and the small crowd stood and turned to watch the smaller bridal party walk down the aisle. Most eyes were as usual, on the bride, Kyra, but not Rick who was locked on his new friend. Laurie looked beautiful, even in a dress designed to make the girls look less attractive than the bride.
He often wondered how he would react if he saw her with another man, never thinking the first time would be at her wedding, and it was a sense of relief when the memories were just that, memories. There was no longing for a return to the good old days, nor to be with her. He had many fond and pleasant memories, but that is where they stayed, in his memory bank.
Laurie snuck a peek at him, locked on his eyes for just a moment, and never looked more radiant, she was beautiful. As Kyra and Gregg repeated their vows, there were looks stolen his way, still paying attention to her duties as maid of honor. When the officiant finally said "I now pronounce you Husband and wife, you may kiss your bride. As they kissed, Laurie sent Rick a message with her eyes, one he fully understood, and smiled as she broke out into a wide grin, they had made it through the service.
TBC