400. Chapter 400

After Habeas Corpse

Episode 7.19

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I'd swear on a stack of bibles that I don't own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

Ryan watched Castle and Beckett leave the precinct. He turned to his partner. "Do you think they could have beaten us, Javi?"

Espo gave Ryan a disgusted look. "Are you falling for Castle's trash talk? There is no way, no possible way, those two could have beaten us. Really! I have to wonder about you sometimes, bro." He shook his head.

"I don't know. I wonder about Beckett."

"Beckett! You think Beckett could beat us? Are you serious? Are you joking?"

"No. I'm serious. We see her in here every day as Detective Beckett and she looks nice, but we've seen her a few times when she's really all dressed up and made up, and she is absolutely gorgeous."

Espo cocked his head. "So? This is a talent contest, not a beauty contest. Of course Beckett is a babe and a half and then some, but that doesn't mean anything."

"Yeah, but the vast majority of cops on the NYPD are men. The judges at the talent contest are cops and all but one were men. And what do men, especially men cops, like to look at?"

Espo thought that one over. "Nah! They'd never go for a pretty face over real police talent."

"A pretty face? How about a gorgeous face, Javi. And those long, long legs? And…." Remembering that Espo considered himself something of an older brother to Beckett, he didn't refer to her ass or her boobs.

"And?" Javi asked.

"We did hear her sing when we first went to the Old Haunt when Castle bought it. She was pretty good."

"Sure, but..." Espo began.

"Captain McMillian from Finance can hardly keep his eyes off…various female body parts. And he was one of the judges. And the senior officer. You think Moore from the Two Nine wants his paychecks screwed up from now until Christmas if he votes the wrong way?"

"No one would ever do something like that." Espo protested.

"Are you sure? How much politicking goes on at One PP?"

Espo thought and then shrugged. "Okay. So maybe, maybe, if they had performed, Beckett would have beaten us all by herself. So? She didn't perform. We won."

"Sure. But you saw how hot Castle was to get into this. What do you bet that next year our consultant talks One PP into letting him and Beckett perform?"

"He would, wouldn't he?"

"So, we had just get busy on our routine for next year."

Espo frowned. "Yeah. We should."

"Except I need to be working to pay for Sarah Grace, so I'll be really busy. I'm not going to have that much time."

"Don't worry about a thing. I'll pick the music, figure out the dance routine, costumes, everything. You just need to show up the last month or so. Thanks for pointing that out, bro. We need to start now for next year."

Kevin Ryan smiled to himself. And I should have no trouble hearing about honey milk or any security guard jokes for a long while. Javi will be too busy.

Castle wrapped a thick robe around his gorgeous wife and kissed her head. "I love you."

She buried her face in his chest. "I love you, too."

"Do you really worry that I'd gave gotten all disappointed in you if you'd told me about your stage fright?"

Kate thought for a moment. "There's more to it than that. I saw how badly you wanted to do this."

He hugged her. "I love showing my remarkable wife off to everyone."

"And I hated to disappoint you. It's not like I never disappointed you before. I really wanted to try for you. I really did."

"And when did you disappoint me? I don't remember a single time."

"Oh? You don't remember when I lied to you for a year about hearing you say you loved me?"

"Disappointed? Me? You were healing, Kate. Doctor Burke said so. How could I be disappointed in your healing?"

"Castle!"

"Did he not say you were healing?"

"And did you not know that until well after we got together?"

"I'm very intuitive."

"No, you're being nice to me."

"Another thing I like to do."

Kate rested her head on his chest and thought. "And I do worry about us. There's always this thought in the back of my mind that I'm just one stupid thing away from screwing us up and losing you."

Castle tipped her head up and looked in her eyes. "Never. Don't you ever worry about that. It will never, ever happen. We are always."

"In my mind, I know that. But my heart tells me that I screwed up so many times before and I could have lost you for good so many times before and…" Kate just shook her head. "Stupid."

"Human. And you're the human I love. Okay?"

"Okay."

Castle smiled. "So if you really did want to try, how about next year? We could start singing in front of Martha and Alexis. Then ask you dad to drop by, then…"

"No. No way."

"Think about it?"

"No."

"I'll ask in a month."

"No. N. O."

The next day Alexis slid onto a stool beside Kate at the kitchen island. "I think I did really well on my Intro to Law midterm."

"Glad to hear that." Kaye waited for a second. "Have you ever thought about the law as a career?"

Alexis shrugged. "I've thought about it. And I've thought about a hundred other fields. But I'm more attracted to science than anything else. Maybe medicine. Maybe the environment. Maybe a lot of things."

"Whatever you pick, you'll be fantastic, I'm sure."

"Beckett? Do you ever regret not being a lawyer like your mom and dad?"

Kate shook her head at once. "Never. When my mom died, I had to become a cop. I could have never gone back to Stanford and become a lawyer. If I'd tried, I'd have been so overwhelmed with guilt, I wouldn't have lasted a month."

"But if your mom hadn't died?"

"Then, yes. If my mom isn't murdered, then I become Katherine Beckett, Esquire, attorney-at-law. But, she did die and here I am. And if I became a lawyer I'd never meet your dad and we'd never get together."

"You can't be sure of that. You and dad belong together. You'd have met somehow."

Kaye smiled. "Maybe." The smile faded. "I've wondered sometimes if the Universe didn't arrange some sort of karmic justice for me. I lose my mom, which changes my life for the worse, and I meet your dad, who changes my life back for the good. Balance, or something."

Kate turned to the young redhead. "Can I ask you something else?"

"Sure?"

"Why do you call me Beckett instead of Kate?"

"Dad always called you Beckett and still does a lot of the time. I think he fell in love with Beckett before he fell in love with Kate. I'm just following his lead, I guess. Does that bother you?"

"No. I was just curious." She waited a beat and added. "Castle."

Author's Note: if you're interested, Four of a Kind, my new Castle story has been posted. Actually, it's been posted whether you're interested or not.