269. Chapter 269

After The Time of Our Lives

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Not even in an alternate universe do I own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

Captain Katherine Beckett sat in her office even though it was late at night and she really had nothing to do.

Detective Esposito stuck his head into her office. "I just got a call from the ICU. Writer Boy is out of surgery. It was touch and go, but they think he'll be okay."

Kate glared at the detective. "Detective Esposito, he took a bullet for me. You will call him Mr. Castle. Do you understand that?"

"Sure, boss. Sorry. Mr. Castle will be okay."

"Thanks. Did they say when non-family members can see him?"

Espo shrugged. "I didn't ask. I didn't know it was important."

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I can call myself." She checked her watch. "Time to go home, I think." She picked up her copy of Castle's book to take home and read. She noticed several sheets of paper were stuck in it. "What?" She pulled the sheets of paper out and read them.

Dear Kate,

You'll probably think that I'm insane, but in another universe I love you more than life itself. I don't know how I got to this alternate universe, but I know I have to help you. I've found out a great deal about this you and I know more from being your partner, friend, lover and fiancé for years.

To prove myself to you, I'll solve a case for you that you weren't able to solve, the kidnapping of Angela Candela. The FBI and the NYPD decided that Angela was dead as no body was ever found. Actually, the kidnapper was her mother, Theresa Candela, with the help of her sister, Nina. She took Angela because her husband was a self-absorbed artist who contributed nothing financially to the marriage and didn't even put much effort into raising Angela. Theresa knew that her hubby would get half of everything in a divorce and probably get Angela. This way she got $750,000 and Angela, and when they got divorced her husband got nothing. Find Theresa Candela and you'll find Angela. Please look into this.

Kate put down the sheet of paper. "Son of a bitch! He's either insane or…." She re-read the last paragraph. "How could he know about this?"

She continued reading.

I thought long and hard about telling you this, but I know who killed your mother. She was stabbed to death in an alley and the investigating detective John Raglan attributed it to random gang violence. Actually, Raglan was in on it. He and a Detective Gary McCallister and Roy Montgomery were kidnapping mobsters for ransom. One such kidnapping went south and an undercover Fed named Bob Arman was killed. Please don't think so badly of Roy Montgomery. In my world, he died trying to save your life. A mobster named Joe Pulgatti was framed for the killing with the help of an ADA named William H. Bracken, now a senator. Pulgatti got your mother interested in his case and Bracken had her killed. A man named Dick Coonan did the actual killing. Please call a Dr. Clark Murray, a forensic pathologist. Tell him to look for four other murders around the same time, all people associated with your mom. The other pages of this are all the things I can remember about your mom's case.

Kate, please be very careful. Bracken has tried to have you killed and came too damned close. I hope that this universe's me can help you, although I'm not sure how good he/I am right now. You might suggest to this Richard Castle that he write about a tough, passionate, committed NYPD homicide Detective named Nikki Heat and her reporter partner/lover Jameson Rook and that he should follow you around to get background.

Kate, please be careful as I love you, in any and all universes, more than you can imagine.

Rick Castle.

Kate carefully read through the rest of the pages. This can't be true. She thought. A US Senator wouldn't do all of this. But she put the pages in her book and went home to read them again.

The next morning she called Will Sorenson. "Will, do you remember the Candela case about six years ago? I got an odd, anonymous tip that the wife, Theresa set the whole thing up to avoid splitting the family assets with her husband, the artist. Do you think you could find Theresa and see what she's up to these days? Yeah, I know it's odd, but as a favor to me?"

She hung up the phone and went on with her life.

A week later she came back to her office to find Will Sorenson and several FBI agents waiting for her.

The Special Agent in Charge spoke. "That was some anonymous tip, Captain Beckett. We found Theresa in LA. She had an eight year old girl who had a surprising resemblance to her kidnapped, and presumed dead daughter, Angela. It took us a few days to get warrant, but as soon as we showed up, she fell apart. Confessed to the whole thing. And you have no idea who your informant is?"

Kate shook her head.

"So, would you like to go out for a drink and celebrate?" Will asked.

"Actually, I'm kind of seeing someone." Which was not entirely untrue.

Later that day, Kate stopped at the loft owned by Martha Rodgers. Alexis Castle opened the door. "Yes?"

Kate showed her badge. "I'm Captain Kate Beckett. Your father was shot trying to protect me. I'd like to thank him. They wouldn't let anyone see him at the hospital but family. I did use my badge to get in once, but he was asleep. Can I see him?"

Alexis nodded. "Sure. He's in his bedroom, upstairs. I'll show you."

Castle was in bed in his pajamas and was happy to see Beckett. "I am so bored. Bored out of my skull. Hey! I know you. Since I was shot, my short term memory is kind of spotty. You're Captain…"

"Kate Beckett and you saved my life. I was wondering how you were getting on with your new book?"

Castle looked puzzled. "New book? I don't remember that at all."

"You were just starting. Looking for some local color at my precinct, in fact. It's about a homicide detective named Nikki Heat and her reporter partner and boyfriend, Jameson Rook. You don't remember?"

"No, but I like it already." Castle looked interested. "I like it a lot. Did I get all of the local color I needed?"

She shook her head. "No, but you're welcome to come back when you're up to it. You did save my life, after all."

"I'll be there."

Two weeks later Castle showed up at her precinct. Within twenty four hours she thought she might be going crazy. Richard Castle was egotistical, undisciplined, and incapable of taking anything seriously. She was seriously thinking of telling Castle that he had done enough research and sending him home. In the twenty fifth hour Castle connected two seemingly meaningless pieces of information that pointed them to their killer. Twenty four hours after that, Kaye had a confession.

Castle helped solve six cases in his first month at the twelfth, enough to become Beckett's partner and a friend of Kevin Ryan. At Castle's urging, Ryan did call Jenny Duffy and they started dating again. Detective Javier Esposito didn't start liking Castle until he bought the precinct a new espresso machine.

A year later, Richard Castle took Captain Kate Beckett to the book launch party for Blazing Heat, the first of his new series. After the party, they went back to her apartment and made love for the first time.

A year after that Rick took Kate on a picnic in Central Park to celebrate the rave reviews for Heat Lightening, now atop every best seller list. As they lay on the grass, Castle looked down into her eyes. "Kate, I love you. I love you, Kate."

Kate smiled. What ever happened to those walls? "I love you, too. Rick." And she knew she had found her one and done.

One year and a month later, with the latest Nikki Heat book, Midnight Heat, again dominating the best seller list, a combined FBI/NYPD task force led by Special Agent Jordan Shaw and Captain Kate Beckett arrested Vulcan Simmons, Dick Coonan, Johnny Vong, the executives of Orantis Solutions and two of their operatives, Hal Lockwood and Cedric Marks, as well as dozens of underlings. At first everyone felt that their protector in Washington would keep them safe. As they found this was not happening, one underling after another turned state's evidence. Vulcan Simmons was the first to make a deal that implicated Bracken. Kate was proud to be able to arrest Bracken, with her fiancé by her side.

With the success of Federal Heat and the first Nikki Heat movie, Mr. and Mrs. Richard and Kate Castle honeymooned in Fiji. Kate snuggled against her one and done in a hammock by the beach. "Do you think that the other Castle got back to his own universe?" She asked.

"Of course. I'm sure he's married to his Kate by now as well."

"Oh? Why do you think that?"

"The universe wouldn't have it any other way. The Rick Castles of the universe have to marry their Kate Becketts."

"But what if there are other alternate universes out there? What if in one of them, mom never died and I became a lawyer and in yet another universe, that Castle went to Hollywood and wrote screenplays and never came back to New York? What if?"

Castle thought about it. "Same thing. You become a lawyer, you marry a brilliant, if unorthodox, lawyer named Rick Castle. He becomes a screenwriter? You vacation in LA and meet. It's karma. You meet, you fall in love and…"

"We get married in all universes?" She asked, not quite convinced.

"Always."

And they, an infinity of Ricks and Kates, did live happily ever after.