138. Chapter 138

After Under the Influence

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I have never been influenced to say that I own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

Javier Esposito watched Joey Malone walk into his building. "Kids." He muttered to himself. I hope I know what I'm getting into with this. I hope I don't screw Joey up any worse than he already is. Esposito laughed to himself. I have one advantage. I know all there is to know about being a bad father from my own dad. And all I have to do is watch from the sidelines for a few years. In three or four years Joey will be an adult. He'll be running his own life. It's not like I'd be really raising a kid like Castle did. He thought for a minute about the writer. Castle says he lucked out, but I don't buy it. I know Castle and I know Alexis. I even know Martha a little bit. There's no way that a kid like Alexis is just luck. I don't know how Castle did it, but he did.

His mind wandered. Castle and Beckett. Finally together. I'm glad they finally figured it out. They screwed around for so many years. I didn't think it would ever happen. There were times when I wanted to take Castle somewhere and bust him one for the way he treated Beckett. There were times, too, when I wanted to take Beckett and…Well, have a long talk with her. Not that she listens.

We're like a family, really. She's the mom and now mom has found dad and everything will be fine. She's just what Castle needs and he's certainly what she needs. The differences between Beckett before Castle and now is like night and day. They're going to get married, I'm sure of it. Esposito smiled. Mrs. Kate Castle, wife and mom. Mom? Yeah. She'd want to be a mom. To have what her parents had. To have a little boy or a little girl, and the kids would have Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jenny. And the wicked step-mother Gates. I can just see us all going out to a ballgame with the Castle and Ryan kids. Knowing Castle, he'd have the kids all decked out in Yankees gear. The kids will need someone to show them how to play ball, though. He's useless with a ball.

He had a sudden thought. Is that going to be it for me? Good old Uncle Javi? Seeing the Castles and Ryans and then what? Do I want to end up like those old cops who hang around cop bars and yack about the old days because they never had anything but the job? Will I be sitting around some bar talking about how Little Castle or Little Ryan is off to college or how happy my old friends are in retirement?

I like Lanie. I really do. We have a real connection. Am I ready for that? Am I ready for the alternative? I gotta think about this. I really do.

Kate Beckett snuggled against her lover. I look back on everything now and wonder why I waited so damned long. I could have had this years ago. I could have been here years ago. Why lie to myself? I was afraid. Afraid that my much married playboy partner didn't want me. That he'd never be my one and done. I'm still afraid that somehow this will all disappear and that I'll have my life shattered just like it was when my mom died. There's a difference of course. I have some control over what happens. I control my own actions and I can now tell Castle just how I feel about him. How much I need him and how much I want him. I know he'll be my one and done.

She smiled to herself and imagined a future with Castle. We'll come home from work, tired, but happy that we solved another murder. Our children will run to meet us…Wait! We left the kids at home? By themselves? No, of course not. With a nanny? No. My children, our children, aren't going to be raised by some stranger. Castle can work at home. He raised Alexis and she's the perfect child. But then if Castle's at home, he won't be with me. It would be like before Castle came to be my partner. How can I do my job without the best partner in all of the NYPD? I can stay home, too. I resigned once before because I decided I wanted Castle more than anything else in my life. Then I found out about that bastard Bracken. We'll take him down. Then I can be with Castle all the time. Maybe I can help him write? Or I can do research for his stories? I could go back to law school, part time. I could work from home. I could just take as many clients as I needed to keep me busy. I'd have plenty of time for Castle and our children.

She closed her eyes. I'll have my one and done, and my happily ever after.

Alexis Castle had her eyes closed, but couldn't get to sleep just yet. Her dad was downstairs in bed with Detective Beckett. No, he's downstairs with Kate. Kate is the woman who makes him happy and whom he loves. Dad thinks he has such a poker face, but I know she makes him happier than Mom ever did, or Gina. And he loves her more, as well. And Lanie has talked a lot about Kate before she met Dad. Poor Kate wasn't happy all of those years. Two happy people, very much in love. I know what that means. They absolutely have to get married. I know they'll get married. And what comes after marriage? Children! I'll be a big sister. That'll be so cool! Of course I'll be much older, so I'll be more like an assistant mom, or something. That is going to be so incredibly cool.

Martha Rodgers looked out the window of her bedroom at the lights of Manhattan. Children! Sometimes I just feel like grabbing Richard by the throat and screaming at him. Marry the girl! She the best thing that ever happened to you. And you're pretty damned good for her, too. And then start making babies. I want to see my new grandchildren before I'm so old I won't remember what children are. Honestly! Richard can be so damned slow sometimes! It took him years to see what everyone else on the planet could see. I hope he realizes how lucky he is that Katherine hung around while he chased all those other women. I'll have to mention that to him.

Martha sat up in her bed. I wonder if there's any of the white wine left?