Consequences

It had been a month Since Kate Beckett had packed a bag and walked out of the loft.

She took only the essentials with her. Enough work clothes for two weeks, her sidearm and backup piece, sleep wear and workout gear. She left everything else behind in the loft with the blind hope that Castle would see this as a sign that she meant to come back as soon as this twisted case was over and she figured things out.

She didn't mince words about how she felt about him like she had the last time she'd run away back before there had been a "them" to consider, or when she'd gone to DC for the interview that had unknowingly set her on the path she now felt she had to be on. If she had told him the truth about why she was leaving, she knew he would insist on coming along and she could not let that happen.

Rita had been perfectly clear about that point if she started down this road. Attachments were liabilities.

He'd called and texted her almost twenty times a day for two weeks after she first left, when he hadn't been trying to insinuate himself into cases, but when it became clear to him that she wasn't going to go home, the calls and messages slowly petered out. The last one she'd received was from Alexis, who had understood at first, but even she had reached her limit two weeks before.

You've broken his heart, taken away his hope and left him with nothing but daily reminders you walled out on him. Is this really worth it?

Then nothing. No calls, no texts, no cups of coffee mysteriously on her desk first thing in the morning. Not even Ryan and Esposito had heard from him. Like the earth had swallowed up both Castles whole.

Both of them looked at her with slowly simmering contempt. It had taken nearly a year for Esposito to shed the belief that Castle had left her on purpose on their first wedding day, that what happened was not his doing.

Now she was the one who had done it, this time with no doubt she had done it on purpose and they watched it happen. They did their jobs, but it was clear they were not happy with her. Though she hoped above all else that Castle would one day take her back forgive her for what she'd done, it was clear the boys would not any time soon.

She knew she would be doing a lot of begging and groveling when this was over. She'd known that from the start. She just hadn't expected it to be this hard, for Castle to give up hope, or for her whole world to fall apart. She cried herself to sleep more times than she could count in the small third floor walk-up efficiency apartment she'd found within walking distance of the precinct.

Her doubts were surfacing more and more often with the radio silence from her husband. More and more frequency she began to ask herself if keeping him safe would be worth destroying him from the inside out. Something Rita had also tried to warn her about, but she hadn't been listening at the time.

She sat at her desk and started on the mail in her inbox until she reached a small envelope big enough to hold a cell phone. It was addressed to her but it was obvious that it hadn't been screened as there was no intake stamp from the security desk. When she opened it and dumped out the contents her heart sank.

It contained Castle's cell phone, his wedding ring and a lock of red hair.

In that moment, she realized that keeping Castle in the dark and walking out on him had not kept him safe. It had merely placed a target on his and Alexis' backs and left them vulnerable.

Just like it had after getting that emergency call from Vikram.

The phone buzzed and the screen lit up with a text message, she punched in Castle's lock code. The text read:

You were warned. You didn't listen.

Walk away, or next time I'll give them back to you a piece at a time.

Locksat

Kate was out of her office like her shoes were on fire. She was halfway to the loft before she even realized where she was going. Her heart choked with guilt for not even considering this possibility, that by leaving her loved ones in the dark, she'd left them unprotected.

She'd agree to anything Castle wants to take her back. She'll go back to Dr. Burke and get help, crawl on her hands and knees and beg if she had to. Purge the real demons in her life to have this one last chance. She only hoped she hadn't come to this realization too late.

Rita watched as Kate ran headlong into the loft. It had been a bit of a stretch after grabbing Richard and Alexis off the street and explaining she was associated with his father without revealing who she was, but as soon as she explained that she was here to keep Kate safe, that Katee needed to understand what the consequences would be if she didn't stop, both he and Alexis were on board.

Kate was a loose cannon and a liability to her mission. With the state her head was in she'd only get more people killed. Most likely the very people she thought she was protecting. If Kate got her stepson killed it would destroy her husband and as much as she claimed otherwise it would kill her too.

He was her one attachment.

Sort your demons out at home, Kate Beckett. Leave these guys to the professionals. She thought to herself as she melted into the shadows.

She had work to do.

**Author's note** This is my response to XX. It is clear that Kate did not figure out that they would go after Rick and everyone she cares about whther she kept them in the dark or not. She isn't considering a lot of things.