873. Chapter 873

After Number One Fan

Episode 6.04

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: We are all Castle's number one fans, but we don't own him. Rating: K Time: See above.

Everything was perfect for the wedding. There was a crowd of well-wishers, a minister, a best man, a groom and a bride. The only problems that Richard Castle could see was that the bride was not Kate Beckett, the bride had a gun and the bride was threatening to kill everyone if she wasn't married to Rick Castle in an hour.

The would be bride, Minnie Welles, looked out the bookstore window at the police, being careful to keep the best man, a store clerk named Wendell Davies, in front of her. "If they move and you don't tell me, Wendell, I'll kill you very slowly."

"I'm the best man." Wendell bleated. "How can I stand here and still…"

Minnie slapped him across the heads with her Colt. "Wendell, do not argue with me!" She screamed. "You argue with me and you're dead. I can always use one of the other men as best man."

Minnie turned to Castle. "Just a few minutes, lover boy. But I have to get into my dress first." She turned to a slender young African American woman standing near her. "Connie, sweetie, can you come over here and help me with my dress?"

Connie looked around and then looked at Castle, then at Minnie.

Minnie erupted. "Don't look around, you stupid bitch! Get your ass over here and help me."

Minnie slipped out of her blouse and skirt. Underneath she had on a white bra, panties and white stockings, held up by a white garter belt. Minnie herself was almost anorexic, she was so thin, Castle noted. No hips, no butt and no boobs. And crazy. He thought.

Castle thought he might be able to grab her pistol as the wedding dress went over her head, but Connie pulled it over so fast, Castle never had a chance.

Minnie turned to Castle and smiled. "Let me see…? Something old? Well, my grandad brought the Colt home after World War Two. "Minnie laughed. "But the bullets are new." She looked around her. "Something borrowed?" She walked over to an older lady who had come to have her book autographed by Richard Castle. "Give me your wedding ring, bitch!" She shoved the .45 into the woman's face.

"No. I will not give you…." That was as far as the woman got before Minnie slammed the pistol across her skull, knocking her to the floor. Minnie took the ring from her finger. "Oh, thank you." She simpered. "It's beautiful." She walked to Castle and handed him the ring. "The ring you got me is just divine, Richard. It shows how much you love me. And only me." Castle could see that Minnie was starting to get angry. "You don't love that bitch who keeps saying that she's your fiancé, do you? You love only me. Not that awful Kate person. Why do you let her say those things about me?"

Castle frowned. As far as he could remember, he'd never heard anyone say anything about Minnie Welles. "Beckett said something about you?"

"Don't call that cheap whore by her name! Don't ever do that!" Castle found himself looking down the barrel of the .45. But Minnie went on and on. "Oh, I can hear her. She says awful things about me! She says I'm not worthy of you, and that she is." Her voice rose to a scream. "If I'm not good enough for you, then why are we getting married?" Minnie glared at Castle. He decided that the glare of a gun toting psychopath was even more intimidating than Beckett's glare.

"Answer me, Richard!" She screamed, waving her pistol around.

"Of course I love you, Minnie."

Outside the bookstore, Detective Kate Beckett and her team sat with the hostage negotiation team leader, Captain Tate, who currently had nothing to do.

"She won't talk to you?" Kate said, mystified.

"Detective, she says she's getting married to Richard Castle in the bookstore today. She said she's his biggest fan and they've been in love for years. We can see in the bookstore and have confirmed she has a side arm. And a wedding dress. But she's kept the people in the store between her and us. We can't risk a shot."

"We have two more things now, sir." One of the officers said. "We've confirmed that Welles is the woman who kidnapped the Reverend Hale from his church this morning, so she has a minister to officiate."

He handed Tate a file. "And we have a file on her. She's moved around a whole lot. Minnie Welles, born in Denver, Colorado. Ran away from home at sixteen. First showed up as an adult at eighteen, offenses mostly involving drugs. Maybe she was trying to self medicate? However, she got into a fight in Des Moines, Iowa about six months ago in a bookstore. Apparently she wanted a Richard Castle novel that's out of print and bashed the store clerk. Told the police she was Castle's fiancé and that he wanted her to have that book. She was arrested and eventually sent to a psychiatrist. The local cops screwed up by just allowing her to walk out of the psychiatrist's office and keep going. And now she's here."

"And now she's got a whole bookstore full of hostages who came to get Castle's autograph and instead are facing some psycho with a gun." Tate said.

"And my fiancé is in the middle of it. And he's the groom." Kate said bitterly. "I'm never going to let him go to a book signing without me again."

"We'll go too." Ryan said.

"Do book signings have cookies or something to eat?" Espo asked.

Kate smiled. "Something to eat? Why not."

After a great deal of effort and he use of Alexis' credit card, a panel truck from a local bakery pulled up in front of the bookstore. A young woman got out and brought out a beautiful wedding cake. Then she came into the bookstore. "The cake for the Castle wedding? Where do you want it?"

Minnie was in tears. "Oh, Richard. You do love me so much. The cake is just perfect." She turned to the delivery driver. "On the counter, please. And thank you so much."

The woman nodded. "And Mr. Castle, the limo will be here shortly to take you two love birds on your honeymoon."

"Honeymoon? Where are we going, my love?"

"To our own private island in the Maldives." Castle said.

"Then we have to get married now!" Minnie screamed, organizing the minister, the best man, the bridesmaid, Connie and, of course, the groom. The Reverend Hale rushed through the ceremony and Castle kissed the bride.

"Oh, look!" Minnie cried. "Our limo. A white stretch limo. This is perfect, Richard my love."

Castle didn't know what was going to happen when they stepped outside. But the last thing he expected was to see Marcy King, the entertainment reporter for a local TV station, approach them with a cameraman. "Mrs. Castle! Mrs. Castle, over here. Can you talk to us for a moment? This must be the happiest day of your life."

Minnie walked over with a dreamy look on her face. As Marcy began asking questions, a cop, pretending to be the soundman, shot Minnie with a stun gun. She dropped like a stone.

Kate ran to her fiancé and hugged him, then kissed him, not minding that they really were on the air.

"Detective Beckett?" Marcy asked. "Now that your fiancé is safe, what are you going to do?"

"Nothing you could show on TV."