Part of Me, Part of You
by Castlefan6
Authors Note: Sequel to Girl from Yesterday, No Time Lapse, the story picks up where we left off. This is AU; Beckett has left for D.C. and the Feds. This describes the activity of each, during the time away from the other. It blends some Canon dialog; courtesy of Dust Jackets Dot Com then goes quickly and completely AU. This will describe what our friends have been up to, Rick and Kate WILL NOT END UP TOGETHER! Taking a Literary License to fill in the blanks.
A/N: THIS IS NOT A CASKETT ENDING: THIS IS NOT A CASKETT ENDING.
I don't own Castle; I use the characters for amusement purposes only, except the ones I create.
Also, we take liberties with the timeline from Canon and use events to make this more believable fiction, thanks.
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Chapter 2
Serena's Condo
New York, One Week Later
They had arrived back in New York, a few days earlier, and after telling Bob and Marcy the news the next morning, they had to take a detour to Los Angeles. Marcy's sister was a fashion designer, and nothing would do, except she purchase Serena's and Alexis's gowns. The local store in New York would handle the alterations, but Marcy was insistent that she do this for the new couple.
Bob kidded that it was a good thing Rick hadn't asked her out before he did, or he never would have convinced her to date him, much less marry him. It was meant as a joke, but everyone knew Marcy loved Rick, and perhaps there was more truth than Bob wanted to admit.
Serena wasn't fazed, she knew who owned his heart, and it wasn't anyone other than her. It had been 8 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, and 11 hours since she first made love to him, and no one could break the bond between them, that was one fact she was certain of. Rick continued to act like his old self, cracking jokes, and kidding like he had when she first met him when they worked on the case of the stolen jewels.
Alexis was contacted by FaceTime and chose the Maid of Honor gown with suggestions from Marcy, her sister, and Serena, who told her to pick the dress she wanted, all she cared about was that she would be beside her on her big day. They had decided to hold the event in three months, on the first anniversary of their first night spent together, but that part was only between the bride and groom.
Rick had asked Bob to be his best man, Serena didn't want a huge wedding, since they both had been through the ceremony before, just something intimate, and captured for her to remember the day. They would only have the Maid of Honor, and Best Man standing with them, then a reception at Maddie's restaurant, Q3. She knew that her old friend may not like it, but she had seen and talked to Rick and Serena more than she had Kate in the last year.
Rick had come to her aid when she suddenly had a cash flow problem a few months ago, turned out her business manager was embezzling from her. It was Rick who had his forensic accountant review her books and catch where the leak of cash had originated from.
Without the infusion of cash that he had offered, she would have been forced to shut down and sell for pennies on the dollar. That was the motive behind the embezzlement, the manager had planned to purchase the restaurant and already had a new owner lined up that would pay ten times what he purchased for it.
Rick's team as RCE, foiled his plan, and instead of an extended vacation in the Riviera, he would be spending 4-12 years in prison. Maddie was so thankful, she was willing to piss off Becks, she owed Rick, and she didn't owe Kate anything, since she had only received a few calls since she had left. She knew that Kate was still in love, or at least thought she was from their last conversation when she cried her heart out.
This was one way not only to start to repay his kindness, but also part of the loan he had given her, no interest, or strings attached. She still marveled at his kindness, a handshake and promise and he had deposited more money into her business account than she had earned in the quarter.
Serena was thrilled with the restaurant and talked to her privately, of course, ensuring that she could afford such a wonderful wedding gift. It was true that Rick had met his match with his future spouse almost as concerned with the feelings of others as he always had been. She was happy for both of them, they made such a great couple.
Finally, they arrived at her condo, home, since Rick wasn't leaving her, and didn't want her to spend one night in the loft if it would instill any doubt of who owned his heart and always would. They decided to investigate property near but not necessarily in the city limits, since Rick had completed his contract with Black Pawn, and had no intentions of signing any extensions.
"Home at last, love, I hope you're comfortable here. I know we said we're going to look around for OUR place, but I don't want you to feel cramped here. My, eh Our place is so much smaller than the Loft", she said quickly correcting the words My to Ours.
"Well, if we get that feeling, we could always drive up to the Hamptons and spend some quiet time there. We're not locked in any location, or forced to make those decisions until you are ready too. I know you are working hard on our wedding, and I'm just here to make you happy, whatever your heart desires Angel." He took her in his arms and kissed her like he had wanted to since they began the trip home.
That was the end of any of her planned tasks for this evening, She was like a high school girl going to Homecoming any time he said those types of things to her. This was the first time they made love in the Condo since becoming engaged, and Rick wanted to make it special, boy did he ever?
She lay watching him sleep just trying to think how she had gotten so lucky with her love life, from zero to hero almost overnight. She knew that there was a spark the moment their eyes met, but after a few minutes with the detective, any hope of exploring the possibility of anything with him was dashed.
Kate Beckett was a fool, but a fool she owed so much to for throwing a man like Rick out with the bathwater she thought. She snuggled up to him, and his arm automatically pulled her even closer as she laid her head on his chest, After kissing him gently, whispering, "I love you, Rick", she was shocked and happy when immediately she heard, "I love you too, Angel, Always will," then went back to sleep. She closed her eyes and was lost in her dreams in a matter of minutes.
XxX
Beckett's Apartment
Washington, D.C.
Same Time
Kate was excited she was finally getting more than one day here, and there off, and had planned a trip back to New York, almost a makeup for the failed first attempt. She had been in touch with those she had promised, and things were beginning to get less awkward with Lanie, Kevin, and even Jenny was beginning to lose some of the ice.
Her Dad and she had had long discussions, he had begun to date one of her mom's old friends who had lost her husband almost in the same period as they had lost her mom. He was worried about telling her and didn't know how she would take the news.
When she finally convinced him that she didn't expect him to erect a shrine and live alone forever. She wanted him to be happy and knew that he was taking things slowly. That was one reason for the trip, to meet, or reacquaint herself with his lady friend. She remembered the name, but not the face, Peggy Flanagan along with her husband Bob had come to their home when she was small, but hell, memories had faded from so many things at this point in her life.
She told herself that she didn't remember many of the things that she and Rick had shared, Oh hell who was she kidding? She remembered everything they did, almost down to the day and hour. Her biggest problem was she never told him about the memories they had made, something he would have loved to hear. Too late now, he was off on another adventure, and she was happy, well, not as sad as she once was with her present situation.
She had noticed that there had been absolutely no news of Rick volunteered by anyone she had spoken to, which wasn't unusual. Lanie flat out told her, that she had busted her ass to get her to see how crazy he was about her, and now she was on her own.
She wasn't sure if they were protecting Rick or trying to spare her feelings. Either way, she would have to put her big girl panties on and face the fact that she stood a good chance of running into him while she was back in town. Her cousin Sophie was out of town again with her boyfriend, so she was staying at her old apartment, much better than a hotel or worse her Dad's or Lanie's if they had offered, which they hadn't.
She boarded the plane for the one-hour thirty-four-minute flight, glad to finally have escaped from the last-minute calls to standby, for a case. She had already turned her phone to Airplane mode and was going to make this trip, finally.
She texted Lanie and her Dad, once she was on the flight, preparing to push back from the gate. Her dad's answer came almost immediately, "Glad you can finally make it home, we'll meet you at the airport, Love Dad". Then a string of heart emojis, the word We will meet you hadn't escaped her, but it was time to grow up she thought.
Lanie replied, "Looking forward to seeing you girlfriend, we have a lot to talk about, See you soon, LP." Kate took that with a grain of salt, Lanie always had something to talk about, mostly asking questions about her sex and love life, which in reality was nonexistent.
She had barely finished her Coke, damn now you have to pay for a glass of ice with a little coke over it, oh well, she was getting ready to land and decompress for ten days in her old stomping grounds. The flight attendants had just sat down, when the pilot announced, "Flight Attendants, prepare for landing" and less than five minutes later, she felt the wheel kiss the concrete and knew she was once again home.
She had just gotten to baggage claim when she saw her Dad smiling, waving nervously, and a pretty woman standing slightly behind him. She smiled, waved back, and retrieved her bag, which for once wasn't the last one unloaded from the cargo bin. As she approached them, she saw Peggy step forward, and then she remembered the younger version of the lady who had visited when she was small.
"Hi Peggy, Hi Dad, it's good to see you both", she was engulfed with hugs from both. "Kate, it's so good to see you, After all that Jim has told me about you, I know Jo would be so proud of you," she said, sincerely,
"Thanks, Peggy, it's just a different setting, I'm still doing basically what I did as a cop here in New York." She replied, remembering the putdowns about her ego from her first trip home.
"Well, Jim and I both are very proud of you and although we miss you being only a few miles away, we know you are following your heart," Peggy said, trying to build her up, in reality, just highlighting her failures.
"Thanks, Peggy, that is very kind" she got out, as her Dad noticed her uncomfortable look and quickly changed the subject.
"Katie, can we give you a lift to your old apartment, you're still staying there aren't you? You know you are always welcome to stay with us if Sophie has a change of plans" he smiled,
"Thanks, Dad, yes, I'm staying at my apartment. Soph will be gone for another month, she's touring Europe with her boyfriend" Kate said,
"I'll pull the car around, so be right back," he said as he took off,
"He's looked forward to this for a long time Kate, I hope you can spend some time with him, one-on-one, I'm sure he wants to talk to you," Peggy said, not pushy, but firm enough to let her know she was protecting her man.
"I thought we would do brunch Sunday, like old times, I know that is where we did most of our deep Father/Daughter talks the last several years." She said,
"Great, I know he would love that, They saw the car pull to the curb loaded up, and sped out of the arriving flight line before the Traffic Control person had a stroke from blowing his whistle so often.
They dropped Kate off at her apartment with a promise to call in the next day or so to set up some time to visit. She walked up the stairs, turned her key in the lock, opened the door, and for one moment was transported back to days before D.C. She hit the remote for some noise as she unpacked in the dresser Sophie had cleaned out for her.
The channel was tuned to TMZ, and shock number one came much quicker than she was ready for. The reporter was talking about the Wedding of the Year, Richard Castle, and Serena Kaye, and although they hadn't made public the plans or date, it was rumored to be occurring within the next few weeks. So much for getting a chance to meet with him, she thought, she would be the last person he would want to see before his wedding.
She knew things were getting serious, but marriage? Never in a million years had she thought he would take that huge leap, especially since it had only been, hell was it almost 11 months she had been gone? She had been back only once, and it had been a disaster, Rick had been out of town then, so she hadn't spoken to him since the day on the swings when he walked away.
She thought back to Dr. Burke's parting words, "Kate, if you want to make the job your priority, then please don't get involved with another relationship, UNLESS both know the ground rules." It had been a tough session, and the kind doctor had leveled her selfishness upon her in a huge dose. She could see clearly how Rick made the decision to dump her, well, set her free as Dr. Burke corrected her.
She pushed the sick feeling back down her throat and sent Lanie a text, "Hey, I'm here at my apartment, Let me know when you're free. Looking forward to seeing you and catching up, face to face. KB"
Almost immediately the reply came, "Finishing up this John Doe, should be at your place in about an hour and a half, See you then. LP"
Kate thought she would grab a cup of coffee, only problem Sophie was a tea drinker. She made a quick trip to the Bodega across the street, then to Java Hut to get the survival kit of coffee and some pre-prepared meals that she could toss into the microwave.
She glanced at the time and decided to take a hot bath, Somehow travel always made her feel grimy, and it would allow her to relax with her coffee and kill some time. As she walked past the bookshelf, there it was the last copy of Rick's book. She had read it over 5 times already, but what the hell, no harm in reading his book.
She finished her coffee, dressed in more casual clothes, and was making a pot of coffee when she heard the distinctive knock of Lanie, She opened the door and was greeted with a huge hug. Things were off to a much better start than the last trip she thought, Then the thought of Rick getting married entered her mind, and it brought back reality.
TBC