649. Chapter 649

After A Slice of Death

Episode 3.20

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Could I have a slice of Castle with everything on it? I don't own Castle, you know. Rating: K Time: See above.

"Castle?" She muttered.

"Uh?" He replied, still half asleep.

"Castle, wake up." Kate said.

Something in her voice brought Castle awake at once. "Is it time? Is the baby here? Don't worry, I have everything planned out. I've done this before remember. First…..My pants. Where are my pants? Oh my god, where are my pants?"

"Castle, the baby isn't coming. It's just…I'm hungry. Starving. Could you get me something?"

Castle sat up and turned the bedside light on, smiling at his very pregnant wife. "Sure, honey. What would you like? How about I make you a bowl of soup? New England clam chowder? Or a sandwich? We have lots of the prosciutto left and that cheese cheddar you like so much."

"Um, could you get me a pizza? Please?"

Castle sighed and got up to get his pants. "Sure, Sal's is just around the corner and it's open 24/7. I'll be right back. What do you want?"

"Babe…?"

"What?" He asked, beginning to wonder where this was going.

"Normally, I just love Sal's pizza. But I have this real craving for Gus's pizza."

"From New Jersey?" He said, trying to keep the distress out of his voice.

"I know I shouldn't, but I really do crave their pizza."

Castle nodded. "Sure. Your occasional craving isn't as bad as when Meredith was pregnant with Alexis. She wanted me to take her to Paris to shop. I'll be right back."

"Um, could you get one with everything on it? With anchovies?"

"Anchovies? Doesn't that upset your stomach?"

"No…I don't think so. And those cashews, and pine nuts? And could you ask them to put chorizo on it too? I just really want chorizo."

"Anything else?"

"No." Kate did her best to push herself up to a sitting position. "Kiss me goodbye?"

He kissed her. "I have a craving for you now." He whispered. Kate just giggled.

Castle decided to take the Mercedes and headed out into the warm Manhattan night. He hadn't gone more than six blocks when he saw the flashing lights in the rear view mirror. He pulled over.

"Put both your hands out of the window. Now!" Yelled a female voice that sounded familiar.

He could see the officer approaching with her weapon out and pointed at him. "Hi, Officer Hastings." He called.

"Mr. Castle?"

He turned around in his seat so she could see his face better. "Something wrong?"

Hastings holstered her weapon. "We had a report of robbery at a market. The suspect took off in a late model Mercedes, like yours. Sorry, but I had to…."

Just then a late model Mercedes, just like Castle's, came around the corner, tires screeching with the sound of sirens wailing in the background. Hastings ran back to her unit and swung out to give chase, clipping Castle's fender as she did.

"Dammit!" Hastings yelled as she pulled up alongside of him. "I have to call this in. I hit a civilian vehicle."

Castle stuck his head out. "No. Go after they guy. Don't worry about the car. Get him."

He got out and looked at the bumper. The bumper wasn't bad, but there was a long crease that went from the broken rear tail light to the rear door. If I report this to the insurance company, they'll want to know what happened and that'll get Hastings in trouble. He sighed. I'll just pay for it myself.

Castle waited for the convoy of police cars to go by, then resumed his quest for pizza.

He stopped at a stop light and a man with a squeegee bottle and rag ran out into the street. "I'll just clean off your window, sir." He said, spraying the window with something that made it opaque.

"That's all right. I'll just…" Castle decided he couldn't drive until the man got whatever it was off his window.

"Hey, you're Richard Castle aren't you?"

"Yes."

"I'm a huge fan, or at least I was."

"You were?"

"Why the hell did you make Nikki a captain? It ruined the books. It's unrealistic for a police captain to be doing that amount of detective work. You should have put her in charge of some sort of special task force or something, not given her a precinct."

Everyone's a critic. Castle thought. "Look, my wife's a precinct captain and she does a lot of detective work."

"Sure, because she's married to a guy who has the mayor on speed dial. Nikki's husband is just a reporter, ferchrisakes!"

"And you know so much about the NYPD?" Castle demanded.

"Do you have any idea how many times I've been arrested?"

"I can guess."

"What's that supposed to mean, asshole?" The man stopped wiping Castle's windshield and walked away, muttering to himself.

"Hey, I can't see through my windshield."

The man flipped Castle the bird.

Castle checked his trunk, but found no rags or anything to clean his windshield. Regretfully, he cleaned the windshield with his new suede jacket. "Just for that, I'm going to make Nikki the chief of police! And I'll have Rook buy the New York Times!" He yelled at the man. The man replied with the finger.

Driving slowly since the windshield was still hard to see through, Castle made it to New Jersey and into the parking lot of Gus's. He sighed, relieved to have made it.

Once inside, he went to the counter. "I'd like to order a pizza with everything on it."

The kid behind the counter pointed to a sign. "Take a number, please." Castle took number seventeen. He looked up and saw a neon sign. "Now serving number sixteen."

He saw a young woman on the phone clutching a paper with the number sixteen on it.

"Judy, we should get a large Hawaiian for you and Marty, and an extra-large pepperoni for the Tomassis and their dates." She listened for a second. "No, I will not get a whole veggie pizza for Marion. She only eats like two slices and no one else ever eats it. So, we could get a half veggie and a half sausage and meatballs." Another break. "I don't care what Angela likes. I'm not going to another pizzeria. Wait! Johnny doesn't want the all meat? He loves the all meat. That's all he ever eats. Go find him and make sure." The young woman stood there, tapping her toe while her friend went to check on Johnny's order.

Castle turned to the kid behind the counter. "How long has she been at this?"

The kid shrugged. "Twenty minutes, maybe more."

Castle pulled out his wallet and held out a hundred dollar bill. "Excuse me, miss. I'm in a hurry. Can I have your number?"

The woman put down her phone. "What kind of a girl do you think I am?" She turned to a large, muscular young man behind her. "Vinnie, this creep is offering me money for my phone number."

"What? You think my girl is some kind o' hooker?" Vinnie balled his fists and advanced on Castle who was babbling.

"Hey, Officer Castle. How's SWAT these days." Came the voice of Gus.

"Cop?" Said Vinnie, backing up a step.

"Look, my wife is pregnant and wants a pizza from here. I just wanted to buy number sixteen so I can order my pizza. Okay?" He held out the hundred. The woman took it and handed him her number.

Castle happily gave his order to Gus.

"Sorry, Mr. Castle. We don't have chorizo anymore."

"None? But Kate said she craved chorizo."

Gus looked past Castle. "Humberto's Carcineria is still open just across the street. He has lots of chorizo. Go buy some and I'll put it right on. Okay?"

Castle ran across the street and found a young woman and the man he assumed to be Humberto screaming at each other in Spanish. "Excuse me." He said, smiling sweetly.

The woman turned around and screamed at him in Spanish which set off a fresh round of screaming between her and Humberto.

Castle waited a minute or so, then spoke loudly. "Can I get some service?"

The woman turned to him. "You men are all the same! You just want to be serviced. Male chauvinist pig!" And slapped him, then rushed out of the store. For a small woman, she was quite strong, Castle decided, rubbing his cheek.

Humberto did give him a discount on the chorizo and soon he was headed home with an extra large, everything on it pizza.

He was within a mile of home when he saw a pickup by the side of the road with its hood up.

"I'm sure the driver can handle it." Castle muttered.

Luckily Castle had slowed down, since the man jumped out into the road, waving his arms frantically. Castle stopped.

"Hey, pal. Can you give me a….jump?" The man slurred.

"Sure, I've got jumper cables." Castle said, rolling his eyes.

"Say, wanna drink?" The man held out a half empty bottle.

"Let me get the cables." Castle said, heading for the trunk.

"Cables? Wha' cables?"

"For your truck."

He turned, almost falling over. "Oh, god. What happen to m' truck?"

"Dead battery?" Rick guessed.

"Good thought. Lemme check." He got in his truck.

"Where my keys?" He moaned.

"In your pocket?"

The man searched his pockets and found his keys. "How'd you know they were there? You magic or something?"

"Or something."

The drunk turned the key and the engine started right up. He drove off down the road with the hood still up. "Thanks, pal. I owe you." He called out before disappearing.

Castle got home just as dawn was breaking and went straight to the bedroom. "Kate, I got your pizza, sweetie." He opened the box and waved it over Kate's head, letting the aroma of pizza fill the air.

"Castle? I'm tired. Let me sleep." She mumbled and turned away from him.

By then Castle was wide awake, so he put the pizza in the refrigerator and did some writing. Several hours later Kate came out of their bedroom.

"Do you want me to make you some breakfast?" He asked.

"Would you, lover?"

"Do you want me to heat up your pizza?"

"Pizza?" She said, wrinkling her nose. "For breakfast? Why would you have gotten a pizza?"

"You asked me to get you one with everything on it from Gus's. With anchovies, cashews, pine nuts and chorizo."

"I did? I don't remember that?"

"We can have it for lunch then."

Kate rubbed her stomach. "One with everything on it? With chorizo? And anchovies? I don't think I could handle that." She smiled at him. "You went all the way to Gus's to get me a pizza? That's so sweet, Castle." She walked over and kissed him.

"It was nothing." He said, smiling at her.