A Biker's Tale
Chapter 8 - Damn The Torpedos, Full Speed Ahead…
Sometime after that first night with Josh, Kate blatantly, but quite unintentionally, let Castle know about her change in status with Josh. She had not planned it, it just came out that way. As they work the case of the two corpses, it turns out the Vic in the case was a doctor. So that lead to them being at the county hospital interviewing with the murdered doctor's colleagues. Castle and Kate had began a case discussion on the nature of medical health services and of the doctors who provided those services.
Kate recalls that conversation:
"You know, Castle, with the state of health care and how stressful this can be for families and for patients, I'm surprised more medical professionals aren't killed every day", she mentioned to Castle. Her words meant as an observation on her part.
Castle gives her a reply, "Yeah. Not to mention the betrayal, the lust, the bed hopping (she gives him a look). I've watched enough of those medical dramas to know that doctors are notorious for sleeping with each other. I bet, as we speak, in this hospital, two doctors are in a break room doing 'it'. And by 'it', I mean …..", Castle goes quiet and does not finish his talk, assuming that his silence tells it all.
"I know what 'it' means, Castle, and that is just a fantasy. Four out of five doctors prefer sleeping with someone outside of their profession", she tells him a fact that she had just learned from Josh.
"Four out of five?", an interesting statistic thinks Castle, then it comes to him. It hits him quickly and leaves him mentally dazed.
"Mmhmm", responds Kate, now realizing that she had said something to Rick that would allow him to draw a conclusion, one she had still wanted hidden. She knows that she had said too much.
Castle is quick to realize what Kate had just revealed with her words. The light in his mind had been turned on, then he asks her, "So, how many of them like detectives?"
Kate's demeanor changes, not in a good way, as she had mis-spoke. She wants to take back her words, but she can't. So she answers Castle with an honest response, "One, that I know of."
"Woah!", replies Castle, slightly stunned by Kate's admission, but now fully aware of what their conversation had lead him to, "you mean Motorcycle Boy is a doctor?"
"Man, Castle. Motorcycle Man."
"Fine, but he's a doctor?"
"Yeah, he is.", inwardly Kate is chastising herself for having to admit a truth about Josh. She had tried to keep him hidden and mysterious to her co-workers, not wanting rumors about them to spread. She is failing dramatically on that purpose.
Castle remains silent for a brief moment realizing Kate had not meant to let that cat out of the bag. He tries for some comic relief, "Huh…so… ah….what kind of doctor? ….Urologist?…Proctologist? …Oh my God…. don't tell me he's a gynecologist!" , Castle is smiling smugly, but it hides his feelings underneath, which at this point are starting to boil. Josh is turning into a formidable obstacle in his path to Kate.
"He's a cardiac surgeon", Kate responds wanting to wipe that smug look off of Castle's face.
"Oh. Cardiac surgeon. Wow, that's …..", he says, not able to complete his thought verbally. Josh is turning into the one who should not be talked about.
"Impressive…,yes, …it is", now it is Kate's turn to be smug, "In fact, he did an emergency bypass on someone this morning. Saved the patient's life. What did you do this morning, Castle?" Kate had not only stuck the knife into Castle's ego, but she had twisted it for pauses, silent, humbled by Kate's sarcasm and knowing he can't compete with Josh, he says rather shyly with some timidity, "I made waffles."
After that talk, Kate came to realize that Castle was treating her differently as a result of her mis-speak. Castle was distancing himself from her. At first it was subtle, he no longer flirted as much with her and stopped some of his more risqué innuendos. As the union with Josh continued into months, Castle was often silent and subdued if the matter of Josh came up. Castle also tried to be absent when Josh arrived at the 12th and was in her company.
That event more than confirmed Castle's anxiety that their union had turned sexual. Rick must now consider that Josh is the man in Kate's life and not him. Castle then realized that he really never had a chance with her. Kate had consistently by-passed him for another. Rick was but just a coworker to her and nothing more. He needed to leave her and stop playing the co-worker who is enamored with her. Rick now saw that Josh was the only one Kate wanted. Rick realized he was fooling himself into thinking he had a chance with Kate.
That epiphany had driven Castle's need to be far away from Kate. He would run from this, as far away as he could run! The bedroom incident had made it real for Rick that Kate and Josh were sexually together. It now was far worse than Demming and was deja vu for Castle. He had to escape to a place where he could heal.
"Kate!", she hears loudly and comes out of her thoughts.
"Where were you at just then? Did you hear what I just said."
"I'm sorry I got distracted thinking."
Lanie Parish just looks at Kate realizing that she had been in another place mentally.
"I said you need to see if you can intercept Castle on his motorcycle trip and give him that talk."
"What are you suggesting Lanie?"
"He is going to Vancouver according to his last post. You should try and catch him there."
"What! He would never agree to meet with me in his current emotional state. I hurt him badly Lanie and he does not want anything to do with me."
"So you ambush him in Vancouver and force him to talk."
"Say again! And what if when he sees me, digs in his heels, and still refuses to budge?"
"Then convince him otherwise. Uh huh, I see those doubts, but you've got to be bold here Kate ..…or lose him completely. It's time that you did the chasing", she pauses for effect.
Then says, "Girl, you deal with the worst kind of criminals on your job. You've taken down some of the baddest. Little old Writer Man should not be a problem. Put on your big girl pants, Kate, and go get your man!"
"So what do you propose, Lanie?"
"Fly out to Vancouver. Monitor his location on line and then intercept him there. As much as you think he won't talk to you, I think the element of surprise will be with you. He'll be so stunned to see you there, he'll be incredulous and that's when you spring the talk."
"Lanie, the devil is in the details. What are we talking about here?"
"Plane trip, rental car, and your personal gear. Worst case scenario, you'll have to follow Rick all the way to Fairbanks, so plan for a motor trip to wear him down, if it comes to that. So, SUV rental, food, drink, and camping gear."
"Lanie, are you saying I will have to camp out, like in, pitch a tent, and play Girl Scout?"
"Well, get the right kind of SUV that can serve as a camper. But certainly plan for camping and cooking out if need be."
"SUV or RV as like that Hutchinson couple has?"
"Maybe something not as elaborate. I read where those compact SUV's like the Honda CRV or Toyota RAV would do. Those are made for weekend campers. The Honda CRV, in particular, has front seats which can recline back to line up with the back seat to make a single bed on the run. One on the passenger side and one on the driver side, that second make shift bed might might come in handy. There is also enough trunk space for camping gear, but as a fall back, most have rooftop racks for hauling extra gear if needed. Rent one of those, and a majority of your issues on logistics is addressed."
"You're really serious on this, huh, Lanie?", Kate's voice exclaimed.
"Plan for a motor trip to Fairbanks via the ALCAN, it may come to that, Kate. This is the internet age! YouTube has lots of VLOGS from people who've done the trip, great research tool and great learning tool for info from people who have done the trip."
"God, you are serious!"
"Just saying Girl, you have to be willing to follow him all the way to Alaska if need be."
"I…I….do you think this will work?"
"How much do you want Castle back? You got to be ready to go all the way."
"Yeah well,…ah…wait…, 'go all the way' …are we still talking about the trip here?"
"That….. and the other thing you were pondering when you were subconsciously elsewhere."
"So you're a mind reader now Lanie?"
"No, but I do know how you think and I sensed you were thinking about Rick awhile ago."
"I was just recalling the whole Josh-Castle mess and seeing where it all went wrong. So get your mind out of the gutter."
"Okay, be that way Kate, but you know I'm right on this. Now do you want your man back or what?"
Kate is speechless, her mind going at warp speed.
Then she says, "Lanie, Oh God why is this so hard, I….I…thinkI'minlovewithhim!", she says quickly, sounding like Alvin the Chipmunk.
"Hallelujah, Kate has seen the light! The truth will set you free. So with that bit of honesty, you need to plan for an all out assault on Rick. An all out frontal attack, take no prisoners, total surrender to you by Castle."
"Okay, I'm all ears, more details here."
"I think we got most of it, but let's jot them down as a checklist for you."
At Castle's Loft
She had booked the flight to Vancouver and had charged a rental of a Honda CRV to her card. Now she was here to let the Castle Women know this was the start of her journey to win back Rick. She rings the doorbell and after a few minutes the door is answered by Martha.
"Katherine, how nice of you to drop by."
"Hello, Martha, just came by to let you know I'm off on my quest to win Castle back."
"Where pray tell are you headed?"
"Vancouver, my flight leaves around 1PM, I'm going there to try and intercept Rick and have a serious talk with him."
"Oh Katherine, you are intent on getting Richard back, but between the plane tickets, hotels, car rental, and the like, you are spending quite a lot for this quest of yours?"
"Don't worry Martha, I have it covered. Besides I'm on paid leave, so it is not like I don't have a income to pay for expenses."
"But still, Katherine, you are doing this not just for yourself, but for us, Richard's family. Allow us to defray some of your costs."
"Martha, I can't do that."
"Nonsense, consider our support as sponsoring your quest", Martha then pulls a purse from the pocket of the smock she is wearing.
"Take this Katherine", and she hands Kate a credit card.
"Martha, no, I can't take this!"
"You can and you will Katherine. It's a prepaid card with a balance of $4,000."
"That is way too much, I…."
But Martha raises her hand in the gesture of 'Stop', "Richard gives me a monthly allowance way too generous and I don't spend it all. What I don't spend goes to savings and it is a large sum thanks to time and the generosity of my son. This is a card I had made for an emergency and carry it in my purse if for some reason if I should need big cash quickly. Take it, I'll have another one issued for me. The authorization codes and additional info for use of the card are on this".
Martha hands an info card to Kate.
Seeing that Martha is adamant about her acceptance of the financial help and realizing she's on a time schedule and her time is flying by, she accepts and says, "Thank you."
"Katherine, you are thought of as part of this family and have been for a while. Family helps family, so there is no obligation to pay this back. Besides, Richard is a millionaire, so it is not like he can't afford it. He's flushed for money."
Martha gives her a hug and then tells Kate to go or she may miss her flight.
As Kate leaves, tears come to her eyes. 'Family helps family'! When had she been given such a status with them.
That thought fills her heart and her tears are those of Joy.
