436. Chapter 436

After Little Girl Lost

Episode 1.09

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Neither I, nor my teddy bear, own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

"That could have turned out better." Castle said.

Beckett stared at him. "It may surprise you, but homicides, or kidnappings, or any other crimes, hardly ever turn out well."

Castle shrugged. "We solved the case. We did what we're supposed to do. And who gets hurt the worst?" Castle looked over at Beckett, clearly expecting an answer.

"Teresa and her sister?"

Castle shook his head slowly. "Angela Candela is the big loser here. Her mother will be in prison until Angela is an adult, as will Angela's aunt. It's tough to grow up without a mother." Castle smiled to himself. "Actually, having grown up with just Martha, growing up with a mother can be…difficult. Entertaining at times, but still difficult."

Kate nodded. I had my mom for nineteen years and I've still missed her each and every day since then. How is Angela going to feel? She's too young to keep any memories of Teresa. All she'll have are photos and videos and whatever she'd told by her family. And Teresa will come off terribly there. Kate smiled slightly remembering her own mom.

Castle went on, not noticing Beckett's silent reverie. "And, Angela's memories of her mother are going to be of the woman who had her kidnapped for ransom. Even after Teresa gets out of prison, she and Angela aren't going to have much of a relationship. It would be really hard to accept your parent after that. Angela won't do well."

"You raised Alexis by yourself, more or less. She turned out very well. She's a great kid, Castle."

Castle smiled at the compliment. "But Angela won't be raised by Richard Castle, but by Alfred. Alfred's done nothing in the ten years of his marriage but paint. I can't claim to be a great connoisseur of modern art, but Alfred stinks as a painter."

"You'll never be an art critic, Castle. "Stinks."? Is that the best you can do?"

"I may not know art, but I know what I like. And I can tell that no one likes Alfred's paintings. He hasn't sold enough artwork in his life time to support a pet rat for a week, let alone a child. No, Alfred won't be able to keep painting, and he's obviously allergic to work. He was perfectly content to let his wife work herself to death so he could paint. And I can't see Alfred being a big financial success in the wide world of New York City. He'll hate the 9 to 5 world. He'll resent not being able to paint and he'll blame Teresa, but sooner or later he'll start to blame Angela. It's not like Angela was the biggest thing in his life to begin with. And when he starts to resent her, he'll start thinking of ways to be rid of her. Maybe another family member will take her. Maybe she'll end up in foster care. Mom's in the slammer and Dad dumped you on some distant relative who didn't really want you, or some foster parent who's only in it for the money. No, Angela comes out the worst in this."

"You really do see the dark side, don't you." Kate said.

Castle looked at her for a second. "You saw Alfred. Would you be likely to vote for him as Parent of the Year?"

She shook her head slowly, "No, but that doesn't mean her life is going to be terrible."

"Well, I hope little Angela and her bunny live happily ever after." He waited for a second. "But I doubt it."

Castle would have been interested to know that Kate Beckett's date was with a glass of red wine and her copy of Storm Fall.

Kate sat on her couch with the novel on her lap. Richard Castle might not have been her favorite person, in person, but she still loved his books. With the exception of his upcoming book. She told herself.

She thought back to the case. Not, the case, really, but some of the things that had been said or had happened. He found us kissing. I was…No, I don't know what I was feeling. I knew when he kissed me that there was nothing there anymore. But for some reason I wanted to explain that to Castle. I was surprised that I wanted to explain the kiss to Castle and even more surprised that he wasn't interested. Was his disinterest because he isn't as interested in me as I had thought? He's Rick Castle, after all. He doesn't really need to try to get some random cop into his bed. There are plenty of women out there who'd jump at the chance. I'm just not one of them. Does he realize that and decided that I'm not worth the effort? Or is he interested in me, and wasn't interested in why I'm kissing someone other than him? He teased me about making out with Will when we were in the car. Is he interested or isn't he? Do I care? She looked down at the book on her lap. Yes, I care. Castle's books helped me get through my mom's murder. And Richard Castle is a self-centered, nine year old on a sugar high who is incapable of taking anything seriously. And he's the man who volunteered to take the ransom money to the kidnappers. That's not what I would have expected of Castle. Oh, he's done dangerous things before, but we were in danger so quickly that he didn't have a chance to back out. This time he knew he was getting into something that was dangerous. And he cold bloodedly walked into danger. He knew how the parents would feel because he is a parent. He teased me about being concerned for his welfare. He was right. I was concerned. I wish I could have just said that I was concerned. I shouldn't have told him I'd shoot him if he screwed up. He's more than I thought he was when I first met him. He's not what I thought he was when all he was my favorite author. I don't know who he is, or what he is and I wish I did.

Kate checked her watch. "I need to get some sleep. I can try to figure out Castle tomorrow." A small voice in her head replied. Tomorrow? You'll need a lot longer than that.

Castle made sure he gave Alexis several hugs before sending her off to bed.

"Tough case, kiddo?"

"As Beckett told me, criminal activities rarely turn out well." Castle explained the case and its consequences to Angela Candela.

Martha's eyes went towards the upstairs where Alexis was asleep. "I can see why you'd be upset."

"Although things went poorly for all concerned, I think I did something good with this one."

"Be careful, Richard. You just might end up an adult if you keep that up."

Castle shuddered dramatically. "I'll be in my office eating s'mores and playing Zombie Apocalypse."

Actually, Castle sat in his office writing Nikki Heat. It isn't my concern who Beckett kisses. As I've found, she's a remarkable woman and deserves some fun in her life. Although Captain Square-Jaw isn't the one for her, it'd be nice if she had some fun in her life. He had a sudden mental picture of him kissing Beckett. Fun? Yes. But do I want to get involved with her? Unbidden, a thought went through his mind. Too late. You are involved.