92. Chapter 92

After Poof! You're dead, Once More

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: There is no Castle ownership up my sleeves. Rating: T Time: See above.

Author's note: This is the third After Poof! You're Dead that I've written. The previous ones are Chapters Four and Twenty Five.

Christmas 2014

"Ready for lunch, babe?" Castle asked.

Kate nodded. "More than ready. My quiet day doing paperwork has been nothing but one problem after the other. "She looked at Castle, slightly guiltily. "Um, I'm not sure when I'll get home tonight. Better not hold dinner for me."

"Nonsense! You need to eat. I'll bring you some take out tonight. What would you like?"

"Where are we going for lunch today?"

"Jimmy's Deli? If that's okay with you?"

Kate giggled. "And why do you like Jimmy's so much all of a sudden?"

Castle assumed a very serious look. "They have excellent food, well prepared, with the well-being of their customer's in mind. I find that…"

Kate laughed and took his arm. "And I'm sure there's no other reason, is there?"

Castle did his best to look offended, and failed. "Why, Detective. Do you doubt my motives?"

Kate just laughed again.

The two got in the ordering line at Jimmy's.

"What can I get for you, sir?" The young lady behind the counter asked with a smile.

"As if you don't already know, Irene." Kate said under her breath.

Castle ignored her as best he could. "I believe that today, I might try…" He looked up at the menu board and appeared to study it carefully. "…The Colossal Castle Burger, with fries and a Coke ®."

Irene smiled. "An excellent choice, sir. Have you had that here before?"

"About a thousand times." Kate said softly.

"And what will you have, Mrs. Castle?" Irene said, laughing with her two favorite customers.

Kate affected an air of confusion. "Oh, there are so many good things here. What will I have?"

Irene snickered. "Might I suggest the Nikki Heated, with potato salad and lemonade?"

"Excellent." Kate said. "How ever did you know?"

Irene smiled. "Mr. Castle called ahead and ordered. We'll bring your order to your usual table in just a minute or two."

True to their word, their food was delivered to a booth in back where they were out of the eyes of the public. Halfway through his burger, Castle spoke. "I dropped by the Black Pawn Christmas party yesterday afternoon."

"Did you have a good time?" Kate asked.

Castle shook his head. "No. I made the rounds, talked to everyone I should talk to, signed a few autographs and got out as fast as I could."

"Problem?"

"Gina had been hitting the Christmas punch pretty hard. It was starting to hit her back by the time I got there. She's not a happy woman."

Kate reached over and took his hand. "It's not easy seeing someone you love with someone else. We both know that."

Rick squeezed her hand. "I'd say she thinks of me more as her property than as someone she loves."

"That's not very nice." Kate scolded him, mildly.

"But true." Castle moved his hand to stroke her face. "She told me she went to see you after she and I broke up. Why didn't you tell me about that?"

Kate blushed slightly. "I was still with Josh. But I was having to fight harder and harder against the idea that I was in love with you. And I was losing that fight. I was afraid if I told you about it, you'd think I was making a play for you, and I was still very frightened of being in love with Richard Castle. So, I just never said anything about it. By the time I stopped being afraid of being in love with you, it didn't seem to matter."

"Will you tell me what happened?"

January 2011

Someone was knocking at Kate Beckett's door, rather loudly."Just a damned minute!" Kate yelled, heading for the door.

She opened it to find Gina, Castle's ex-wife at her door. "Gina? What do you want?"

"I just came by to congratulate you. You won." Gina's voice was slightly slurred and Kate could smell alcohol on her breath.

Great! Kate thought. A drunk woman who's just been dumped. But she smiled and was polite. "Would you like to come in?"

Gina glared at her and walked into her apartment. "I thought Rick would be here."

"Why would he be here?" Kate was sure that she knew why Gina thought Rick would be here, but was trying to keep the woman calm.

"Because you're banging him." Gina said as nastily as she could.

Kate made an effort to control her temper. "I've never slept with Castle. We've never even kissed. And I have a boyfriend. Your suspicions are completely unfounded."

Gina laughed sarcastically. "And I do admire how you manage to keep the two of them in line, but I suppose you're used to keeping a number of men on a string like that."

Kate was having trouble keeping her temper under control. "What exactly do you mean by that?" She snapped.

"I know what it's like being a woman in a man's world. The youngest detective in NYPD history. How many people did you have to screw to manage that?"

"Gina, I do not need to stand here in my own apartment and be insulted. I've told you that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, going on between Castle and me. You obviously choose not to believe that. That's too damned bad, but I don't care. Now, please leave."

Gina nodded and smiled coldly. "You think you've won, don't you? Well let me tell you something, Detective. You haven't won a damned thing. Richard Castle has room in his life for one woman and one woman only, and that's Alexis. He'll be dumping you soon enough just like he's dumped me and every other woman he's ever been with. So, if you're smart, you'll stick with your doctor friend. He may not be the millionaire you want, but he's the best you're going to get."

Kate walked over and opened her door. "I'd like you to leave now."

Gina walked to the door, but stopped. "There's just one thing that I'm unhappy about in this. When he does dump you, you won't feel anything but a financial loss when he's gone. You won't feel like I do about losing him. But then I'm not a cheap, gold digging little whore, am I?" She walked out the door. Kate had to make an effort not to slam it.

Christmas 2014

"You should have punched her." Castle said quietly.

Kate shook her head. "No. She was drunk, she was upset and I'm a cop. I can't go around hitting people just because they insult me."

"You should have called me, then. I'd have punched her for you."

"You would not!" Kate said firmly. "I would never let you do something like that."

"I would have enjoyed it, though." he said, smiling.

Kate glared at him, but couldn't hold it. She smiled. "Me, too." She scooted over so that she sat right up against Rick. "I was afraid she was right, you know. I was afraid that you didn't love me. That you didn't love me as much as I loved you. That you wouldn't stay in love with me. That's why I fought loving you so much. I was afraid," Kate leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You do know that I'm all about taking all of the pain out of your life and replacing it with joy and love, right?"

Kate giggled. "You may have mentioned that once or twice?"

"How am I doing?"

Kate made a show of thinking about it. "Well, you do bring me coffee every morning. And you did get a sandwich named after the fictional me at Jimmy's Deli. And…" Kate stopped and frowned. "…there was something else." She reached up and kissed him. "I remember, you married me."

"I'm glad I'm doing so well." He said, mock seriously. "And do you know how long I'll love you?"

"Always?" She said promptly.

"Always."