Reborn in Castle (TV show)

Travis stopped. "You guys go ahead."

Castle and Kate left, leaving Travis and Lanie alone.

There was a moment of silence...

After coming back from Bali, both Travis and Kate told Lanie about their three-way relationship if she wanted in. Lanie was surprised and wanted some time to think this through before committing because it was a big decision.

He slipped his hands into his pockets. "Something wrong?"

Lanie glanced toward Allison's covered body before walking toward the counter and setting her tablet down. "No. I just didn't want to have this conversation with Beckett standing five feet away pretending she wasn't listening."

Travis understood immediately.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh," Lanie replied as she leaned back against the counter and folded her arms. "You two really know how to drop something huge on somebody and then tell them to take all the time they need."

Travis gave her a small smile. "We meant that part. There wasn't a deadline."

"I know."

Lanie became quiet again, which was unusual enough that Travis resisted making a joke. She looked down at the floor for several seconds before finally meeting his eyes.

"I've been thinking about it since you and Kate talked to me."

Travis nodded and stayed where he was. "Okay."

"A lot," Lanie added. "Probably more than I should've, considering I've got bodies piling up downstairs and enough paperwork to kill a forest."

"That sounds healthy."

Lanie gave him a warning look. "Don't start."

Travis raised both hands slightly. "I'm listening."

She studied him for another moment before letting out a slow breath. "When you first told me what you and Kate were thinking, I thought you were both crazy."

"That was one of the reactions I expected."

"I mean seriously crazy," Lanie continued as she pushed away from the counter. "You were standing there telling me that you and Beckett were happy together, living together, talking about the future, and somehow you'd both decided there might be room for me inside that relationship."

Travis's expression softened. "There could be, if you want that."

Lanie looked away for a moment. "That's the part that scared me."

He didn't interrupt her.

She walked slowly around the end of the examination table, keeping her eyes on nothing in particular while organizing thoughts she'd clearly been carrying for weeks.

"I spent years making sure relationships stayed simple enough that I could leave whenever things got too serious," Lanie said. "Then you came along and wanted something real, and I did exactly what I always do when somebody gets too close. I pushed you away before you could become important enough to hurt me."

Travis rested one hip against the nearby counter. "You had reasons."

"I had fear," Lanie replied. "Some of those reasons were good ones once, but eventually I was letting old memories make decisions for me. You asked me more than once whether we could be something more, and every time I told you casual was safer."

Her mouth tightened slightly.

"Then you stopped asking."

Travis remembered those conversations clearly. "I figured I'd gotten my answer."

"You had," Lanie admitted. "I just didn't realize how much I'd hate that answer until you actually accepted it."

She looked directly at him now.

"Then you and Beckett started getting closer, and I got jealous even though I had absolutely no right to be. You'd offered me exactly what I wanted, and I'd turned you down."

Travis shook his head slightly. "Feelings don't really care whether they're convenient."

"No, they definitely don't."

A faint smile appeared on Lanie's face before disappearing again.

"When you were lying unconscious after the tunnel, I thought I'd lost my chance," she continued. "I sat beside your bed and told you everything because I was terrified you'd die without ever knowing why I kept running from you."

Travis's expression changed.

He remembered fragments from those months, scattered voices reaching him through sedation and whatever strange place his mind had occupied. Kate's voice had been the clearest, though others had reached him too.

"Lanie…"

She lifted one hand before he could continue. "Let me finish because I've rehearsed this conversation about a hundred times or more, and if you interrupt me, I'll probably lose my nerve."

Travis closed his mouth and nodded.

Lanie took another breath. "Then you woke up, Beckett loved you, you loved her, and I decided that was the end of it. I was genuinely happy for both of you, even when part of me wished I'd made different choices."

She stepped closer.

"Then you two came back from Bali and somehow asked whether I wanted another chance."

Travis watched her carefully. "It wasn't about giving you some consolation prize."

"I know," Lanie replied. "That's why I've been thinking about this seriously."

She stopped a few feet in front of him and folded her arms again, though the gesture looked more nervous than defensive now.

"I talked to Beckett privately three days ago."

That caught Travis's attention. "You did?"

Lanie gave him an amused look. "Of course I did. You really think two women are considering sharing a relationship with the same man without having a conversation that doesn't include him?"

Travis considered that for half a second. "That's probably for the best."

"It definitely was."

"What did you talk about?"

"That's between me and Beckett."

His eyebrows rose.

Lanie smiled slightly. "Get used to hearing that."

Travis let out a quiet laugh. "This arrangement is already becoming dangerous."

"Probably."

The humor helped loosen some of the tension between them. Lanie looked at him for another moment before her expression became serious again.

"I asked her if she was really okay with this. I didn't want her agreeing because she felt sorry for me or because she thought she'd somehow taken you away."

"And?"

"She nearly threatened to perform my autopsy early for suggesting she makes relationship decisions out of pity."

Travis smiled. "Sounds like Kate."

"She said she loves you, trusts me, and wouldn't have suggested any of this if she wasn't genuinely interested in seeing whether the three of us could build something together."

Travis nodded slowly.

Lanie looked down at her hands before continuing. "Then she asked me the question I've been avoiding."

"What question?"

"Whether I still loved you."

Travis became completely still.

Lanie looked back into his eyes. "I told her yes."

For several seconds, Travis didn't say anything.

Lanie's mouth curved slightly. "You could react sometime this century."

"I was giving my brain a second to catch up."

"Your brain usually works faster than that."

"Certain information causes temporary system failure."

That earned a quiet laugh from her.

Travis pushed away from the counter and walked closer until only a small distance remained between them. "So where does that leave us?"

Lanie held his gaze.

"It leaves me saying yes."

Travis stared at her.

Lanie's smile grew despite the nervousness still visible in her expression. "Yes, Travis. I want to try this."

His expression slowly shifted into a relieved smile. "You're sure?"

"I've spent two months thinking about it. I've talked to Beckett. I've argued with myself in the shower, in my car, at work, and once while examining a guy who'd been dead for six days."

Travis winced slightly. "Romantic."

"Occupational hazard."

He smiled, though he remained careful. "You know this could get complicated."

"I know."

"There'll probably be jealousy sometimes."

"I know."

"We're going to have to talk about boundaries, time together, what everyone wants, what nobody wants, and a dozen things none of us have figured out yet."

"I know all of that too."

Travis studied her face. "And you still want this?"

Lanie stepped closer until she stood directly in front of him.

"Yes," she replied. "Because I'm tired of letting fear decide what happens whenever I care about somebody."

Her eyes became softer.

"I ran away from you once. I'm not doing that again."

The words hit Travis harder than he'd expected.

He reached for her hand and slowly intertwined their fingers. "You don't have to promise you'll never get scared."

"I know."

"You can get scared. You can get angry, jealous, confused, whatever happens. Just talk to us instead of disappearing."

Lanie squeezed his hand. "That's what I'm promising. I'm not running away again."

Travis smiled. "Then I think Kate's going to be very happy when she hears this."

Lanie raised an eyebrow. "You think?"

"She tried pretending she wasn't waiting for your answer, but she's asked me whether you'd called about seventeen times."

Lanie laughed. "That sounds exactly like her."

"She also threatened to deny it if I ever told you."

"I'll make sure to mention it immediately."

"You're evil."

"And apparently you're dating me again, so that's your problem."

Travis laughed before his expression softened. "Come here."

Lanie stepped into his arms without hesitation.

Travis wrapped both arms around her while she rested her head against his shoulder. The hug lasted longer than either of them expected, carrying months of regret, hospital fear, missed chances, and uncertainty that neither needed to explain anymore.

Lanie eventually pulled back enough to look at him. "This feels weird."

"Bad weird?"

She shook her head. "Good weird. Like something I thought I'd already ruined somehow came back around."

"You didn't ruin everything."

"I came pretty close."

"Luckily, Kate and I are apparently terrible at normal relationships."

Lanie smiled. "Two detectives and a forensic expert trying to make a three-way relationship work. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Statistically?"

"Don't answer that."

Travis grinned.

...

[Later that evening...] [5:30 PM]

Esposito got the hotel records. Kate had the forensic team sweep the apartment, and they found poisoned incense and medication. As for Travis, he was still at Room 814. He was just sitting on the couch, playing a racing game on his phone.

The doorknob made a little sound as the door opened.

Travis looked up and saw Jane walking in alone. He stopped, seeing Travis.

"Well, the reports were right; you do have a habit of not following the protocols," Travis said as he closed the game and stood up. He walked over to Jane and extended his hand. "Travis Wilson, big fan of your work..."

Jane shook his hand, looking a bit amused.

"...and I know who Red John is."

Jane's amused expression vanished.

--

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