Fate's Surprises
Chapter 5 - Game On
Tom Demming is conflicted. He had promised Kate he would just keep it friendly, but everyday it was getting harder to do so. The reconnected friendship Kate had with the author, Richard Castle, and also father of her child, was now becoming much closer. Tom felt left out. He felt threatened by this turn of events. It had come on so suddenly and unexpectedly. He needed to turn the tide in some way with Kate and was always thinking of how to do so.
Castle was a formible challenge to Tom's pursuit of Kate. He knew Castle had the advantage. As father to Kate's daughter, Castle had already been with Kate intimately and had won her heart at one time. That had to count for something since Kate was the kind of woman who did not fall easily for a man. The man had to earn the privilege of being allowed into her private space and Castle had done so. The Writer was now attempting to rekindle that past connection with Kate that they had lost after not having being in contact for some years. It looked like their re-connection was indeed happening and their union growing even more closer and familiar.
Tom had not asked Kate about Rick or how they had been apart for years. He was keeping his distance. Tom knew Kate was a very private person and would not share such info even if Tom had asked. So, Tom had gleaned knowledge of her past with Castle from bits and pieces of talks with Kate. He had connected the dots of those pieces and deduced it was a brief union, happening around the time of her mother's death. From that timing, Tom knew that Kate had been in a bad emotional state back then. It was a dark period for her and she had been most vulnerable back then. It was a perfect setting for someone to come and give her relief. A man who would give to her that empathy and interest she needed to forget her unfortunate situation. And a man had come into her life for just that. Castle had been that man, at the right time and at the right circumstance.
Demming also knew about Castle's playboy reputation as he had research him. He could not help but conclude that Castle may have taken advantage of Kate's emotional state at that time in her life. Had Castle exploited her and then left her on her own? But if that were the true, why had Rick returned years later to try and reconnect? No, it must be that there was more to it than just a one time fling. After that event somehow fate had separated them. These are what Demming's police sense indicated: that the two may have had a instant connection back then and now were exploring that connection after years apart. But now they were just taking it slowly and seeing what could happened between them. The two wanted to see if that first connection was something that would grow with more time together. A time they had lost over the last six years.
Had it been love at first sight for the two? It was a thought that Demming didn't believe in nor wanted to ignore, since all points seemed to lead to just that conclusion. His own thoughts on the matter were that Kate and Castle had a better chance of rekindling that connection than he had of getting Kate into a similar situation. He was now desperate to do that before Castle attempted to steal her away. Tom did not like his odds here.
Demming needed to learn also how they had drifted apart. Was it under circumstances that the couple had no control of and thus resulted in their lapse of time for many years? If so, had the time apart fueled their desire to see where their ecent reunion might lead? Absence does make the heart grow fonder and from what Tom had observed between the two, both had longed for the other during that absence.
After Kate introduced Castle to her circle of friends and collegues, Tom and Kate had agreed to remain as they had been with each other before Castle's appearance back into her life. They continued having lunch together when work allowed and being together at case celebrations (either at Robbery or Homicide). They had even done an undercover sting together. It was a voluntary assignment for a joint Vice/Drugs operation. During the sting, they had played the role of a loving couple at a Club. To be convincing of their cover, there had been affectionate touching and innocent kisses between them. All done as a ruse to convince others of their part in the sting operation.
That Club was rumored to be a Swinger's Club. It sold illicit drugs from heroin to roofies for its customers; all to enhance the sexual pleasure of the club clientele. The club also catered to singles looking for a good time and who would pay for a partner for the night; male, female, or same gender. All was on the club menu. Tom recalls that event vividly as Kate had been so hot looking in her undercover outfit. She had worn a tight fitting and low cut dress, teasing with a glimpse of her cleavage with the hem mid-thigh, showing off her legs. Although it had been all role playing by them for the op, Tom had fantasized it as real. It was a sample of just what he want them to become.
Still, Tom sensed he was losing ground with Kate. He felt like an outsider now. Each time she spoke of events with her daughter and Rick, he felt like she was slipping away from him. Tom needed to be more aggressive in his efforts to win Kate's heart, but how to do so without appearing predatory? If Kate got that sense, she might just decide to end them. Tom did not want that, so he needed to come up with an effective approach to gain Kate's affections.
"Hey Tom", he hears and comes out of his thoughts, "your mind was else where and you did not hear my question of what to do for lunch."
Tom had drawn Patrol Duty that day as Robbery did not need their uniforms. So, he had been partnered with Officer Louis Decena, also a Robbery uni, and his patrol partner.
"I'm sorry Lou, let's do pizza".
"Sounds like a plan", responds Decena as he drives to their favorite pizza stand, where they will order a slice a piece with drink and then eat at the stand up tables there.
"So Tom, what's going with Kate?", Decena asks once they started eating their slices at one of the tables.
"Was I that obvious?"
"Well, you have been a little off since meeting Kate's baby daddy", Lou Decena had been at the same case celebration at The Old Haunt when Castle first became known to them.
"I thought I was hiding that well. What gave me away?"
"We've been patrol partners now for years and during these times, you always talk of Kate. You've been silent on her for the last two patrols since this Castle guy appeared. It's got to be him on your mind, dude!"
Tom let's out a grunt and shows a frown on his face to Decena upon hearing Lou's remarks.
"I'll be honest with you, Tom", Decena continues, "the guy's tough competition. He came out of the blue and you got blind-sided. Kate had never mentioned him in the past. Not to any one, not even to her fellow homicide uniforms. Espo and Karpowski were also surprised when they learned of him during a recent case prior to our celebration at the Haunt. They only met the man then."
"I've just been thinking how to get better with Kate and not appear overly aggressive."
"Your problem is you came off as 'Mr. NIce Guy' who will just be there as her friend for the mean time. You've cut her too much slack. So any change from that demeanor will get her attention."
"Exactly", Tom agrees with Lou.
"You should have been more forceful from the start. You should have challenged her desire to keep it friendly. Look Tom, we are both cops. So let's look at it like cops and handle this thing with Castle as if were a case. We got to get intel first to appraise the current situation and from that develop an approach to the case. We need to find this man's good and bad points, and then use the negatives against him. You got to somehow, subtlely, drive a wedge between the two."
"Sounds like you've done this before!"
"How to you think I reeled in Gwyn. Prior to us being together she was dating that Firemen, Brad what's his face, Decker, Mr. July, on the NYFD calendar."
"So you gonna be my coach and mentor here, or what?"
"Let me get my 'Brad' team together and we can huddle on this. We're in your camp here and we won't let you give up on this quest to gain Kate's heart. Feel better?"
"I do, but I will feel so much more so after our first huddle."
"Let me set it up."
"Thanks partner."
"De nada, Tom. What are friends and partners for, if not to help each other?"
Lou's group was composed of other uni's from Robbery and other divisions. It was a small group of four to include Lou and they met to help Tom figure a plan to hook Beckett. Prior to their meeting, each one of them had done intel on Castle. The conclusion was to use Castle's playboy reputation against him.
"You got to bring him up every time you can and plant doubt in Kate's mind about this guy", said Lou, "His playboy rep is just made to do that."
"Yeah Tom", says Phil Grimes, a Vice Uni and part of the Team Demming, "like this article that just appeared in the Post about him being chosen no. 3 most eligible bachelor of NYC. That you can use to your advantage."
"For instance", adds Gil Baker, another Team Demming Uni, "say you are having lunch with Beckett one day. You could say casually, 'read where your guy is eligible bachelor number 3 on the list, wonder how many women come on to him."
"That plants the seed in her mind that she could be replaced by Castle", Pete Noone says further, the last member of the now new and just established 'Team Demming' .
"It pysch warfare Tom. You got to plant the seed and then build on it", Lou adds to Noone's remark.
"Is that what you did to get to Gywn?"
"Yeah, but you got to be subtle and patient. Don't rush it, take the time you need as you got all the time."
"Do I, what if Castle manages to get there first?"
"Confidence Tom, don't doubt yourself. Make Kate doubt Castle", is Baker's comeback.
"We got other stuff you can use against Writer man, so let go over them".
By the end of the meeting, Tom feels pretty good about his approach with Kate.
"Thanks guys, this has been helpful."
"Not so quick there partner. You are gonna have downs at times and will need to have a sounding board to vent. So, any time that happens call the team. We good?"
"Yeah we are right. You guys are the best."
Castle Loft
Rick Castle heads to the dining room for breakfast hoping he had not missed Alexis his oldest daughter before she left for school. He had come in late last night after having dinner with Beckett, his youngest, Lily, and Kate's dad, Jim, at the Beckett brownstone. Then after dinner, they had watched the original "Snow White" Disney animation with Lily until she fell asleep.
"Good morning pumpkin", he greets her, glad he caught her before she left for school.
"Morning dad, missed you at dinner last night. You got in late."
"Yeah I did", he replies as he gives Lexy a good morning kiss to her cheek, "your little sister asked to have me at dinner, so it was an unexpected invite."
"I'm happy dad, Lily needs to know you was well as I do."
Castle is please by her remark and wonders how he got such a perfect daughter. He had expected there might be some sibling rivalry going on, but Alexis was falling more and more in love with her younger sister.
"I know this is new for you pumpkin, sharing me with a sibling you had not known about."
"Dad, you missed out on six years with Lily. You're playing catch up, so no, I do not mind that you are bonding with my little sister. I have always wanted a sibling but you and mom were never going to give me one. Besides, Lily is so cute and affectionate, how can I ever not want her to become closer to us, her immediate family?"
"Come here", he says to her and pulls her in a hug.
Alexis returns the hug and then says, "Got to go dad, can't be late for school, but just one thing."
"What's that Pumpkin?"
"Think Kate would mind if I did a sleep over with Lily for a weekend?"
"Well if your sister wants it, Kate would be happy with that. I am sure Lily would love it."
"Great, could you ask for me?"
"Sure thing Lex, now take off for school before you're late."
"Bye Dad", she says throwing him a flying kiss as she makes for the Loft door.
Once Lexy is gone, Rick just sits there in awe, marveling at how great his eldest daughter is.
"Richard", he hears, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Morning mother".
"So how was the dinner?"
"Let me get my first cup of coffee and I will tell you."
"Richard, how about making one for me also. You know how I like it."
"But of course mother".